A Lost Cause
by Starrynightskydreamer
Summary: Draco gets bitten by Fenir Greyback as punishment from Voldemort. It's difficult adjusting to the packlife. Greyback has a special purpose for him, which cannot be good. Draco is getting more and more confused when he suddenly ran into Hermoine Granger. How did she got involved into all this? What is Greybacks plan? *werewolfdraco
1. Prologue

Draco Malfoy had never thought his life would end like this. Or… maybe it made sense. He was a deatheater after all. Dying alone in a dark alley was not a strange fate for one of those. The only thing that was strange, was that he would die at the hand of one of them.

For the dark lord was the worst punishment dead. And of course, Draco Malfoy couldn't just die by the hand of a wizard. No. That would have been too easy.

He did not deserve easy.

"You're quite special, little boy. Did you know?" whispered Fenir Greyback. Although he did not want it, Draco shivered at hearing the voice of the monster.

"The Dark Lord has changed his mind about you." Greyback made it sound like Draco should be lucky. Knowing Voldemort, he knew he should be the opposite.

Greyback circled around him.

"You could be quite a use, couldn't you boy?" he murmured.

He was getting on Draco's nerves. "Just kill me already."

Greyback laughed at this.

"Oh but dying is too easy for you, little boy," cracked his voice. "I could use a youngling." He swiped his tongue around his pointy teeth and suddenly Draco understood.

Yes, this fate was far worse than death.

Draco turned around and was starting to walk away.

"I have a special intent for you," Greyback whispered before Draco felt his sharp teeth sink in the soft flesh of his neck.


	2. Chapter 2: The Pack

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does._

The war wasn't going to end soon. It wasn't like Voldemort would just give up his believes and finally understood that he couldn't kill all the people he didn't like. Neither would the light side even consider giving up.

Still, it was getting more difficult. Trying to find happiness in the darkest times, just like Dumbledore always said. But Dumbledore was dead. His words were in void. He was not forgotten, but he was remembered as a character from a fairy tale. Something that would give hope, but wasn't real.

The light side was slowly fading away without Dumbledore's hold. After his death, everyone turned to Harry Potter. The seventeen year old boy might have been more mature than most of his age, but he was still a child, like so many in this war.

He didn't have to carry his fate alone. His two best friends would always be at his side, even when he didn't want them to. Ron Weasley was the friend anyone could count on. He was always there. He would complain about being there, but he would still be there. Without him, the golden trio wouldn't be complete.

The final add to the three and the only girl (which shouldn't influence any judgment about her) was Hermoine Granger. As bossy as she could seem, she was indeed most of the time right. Without her the two boys would have died six years ago.

Not many people did realize that she was the one without who the war would have been lost.

And yet, the light side was fading away. With each month more.

The dark side would gain more power. As the dark side always did, when despair rose.

But the golden trio wouldn't be the golden trio if they gave up.

The order

"So they will attack here, because they will think that we will attack there, but it would seem to easy, so they will change their plans and attack there. Where we would be standing, because we would think that they would think that we would attack there. Which makes us at last, attacking this side. Get it?"

Quite a few gobsmacked faces stared at the bushy haired witch. She didn't look up and was still following the lines of the map which was spread over the table. The only one who seemed to be following the smart girl was Lupin. He nodded and looked like he understood what she was saying. The rest of the group was just nodding when he was.

"So we will attack there?" asked Ron carefully.

She sighed. "No Ron, we'll attack here." She said every word very slowly, like one would do with a child.

She looked around, a little irritated. "Anymore questions?" Everyone was quick to shake their heads. "Okay, that sit for tonight. Thank you for your attention and goodnight."

The order started going to the sleep quarters for the night. Hermoine was still looking at the map.

"'Moine, you should sleep as well," a voice said concerned. She looked up and her brown eyes met green ones.

"I'll be fine, Harry," she answered and she went to look back at the map, but Harry caught her wrist.

"No 'Moine. I'm serious. You should sleep. It is no use of looking over the plan for the tenth time."

"Harry-" she began.

"You need your energy." He let go of her wrist and walked upstairs. Deciding to let go of her stubbornness for once, she followed him.

Tomorrow would be a long day, again.

Draco

Pain. There was so much pain. It was like all his other senses didn't work anymore. He couldn't smell anything, hear anything, taste anything, see anything. He could only feel and the only thing he could feel was the burning pain in his body. He couldn't even concentrate enough to know where the wound was.

The first sense to come back was hearing. At first the voices were just whisper, but after a few seconds he could perfectly understand the voices.

"Who is this new pup?"

"He doesn't look like much, does he?"

"Who are we to judge Alpha?"

"Still-"

"Ssshh, I think he is awake."

The second sense to come back was taste. It was that horrible taste you had in your mouth when had slept for a long time or when you hadn't drank enough water.

And there was another taste which he couldn't identify in the beginning. With a shock he realized it was blood.

"Come on, pup. We know you're awake," grumbled a low voice and he felt someone poke in his side.

Pup?

Slowly his brain started to work again.

Fenrir. Teeth. Pain. Black.

Werewolf.

Shit.

Again a poke in his side.

He slowly opened his eyes to send his best glare at the man who woke him up.

"Yeah, that's not gonna work, little pup." The man who spoke was old and wrinkled. His long grey hair was held together with a leather band. His eyes were a very light shade of blue and there was something in them which made Draco think he was blind, although he stared right in his eyes.

"Where am I?" Draco asked, his voice hoarse from the little use.

"Scotland, of course," the old man answered.

"Who are you?" Draco asked.

The old man laughed. "A curious one are you? I like that. Most pups would already shit their pants by just looking at me. You could be called naive or brave."

"My name is Sage. I am one of the elderly from the pack."

"Pack?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"How is your wound?" asked Sage, ignoring his question.

"It's okay," he lied.

"I know it is hurting like hell, so there is no use in trying to look tougher."

He turned around and called for someone outside. Draco started for the first time taking in his surroundings. It looked like a tent. It was made of pelts and was not very large. The bed was also made of pelts. It was on the ground, but it was quite comfortable. He concentrated on the sounds from outside the little tent. The pack, where Sage was talking about, seemed to be large. He could hear more than a hundred footsteps. His ears were sharper than before. He could distinguish the footsteps from each other and guess if the person was a man, female, child or an animal.

"Quite amazing, huh?" Sage asked.

Draco didn't have to answer, the look on his face already did.

One of these footsteps led directly to his tent. A minute later the tent opened and a female a little older than he stepped inside. She had straight black hair decorated with brown beads. Her eyes were a shade darker than Sage's.

"Ah, Calista, this is the new pup. Could you look at his wound?"

"Sure," she answered and she pushed Draco's shirt down roughly.

"Hey," he complained weakly.

She traced the bite mark with her fingers and he couldn't help but wince at her touch. The wound was still fresh and Sage was right by saying that it hurts like hell.

"Next full moon it will be healed all fine," Calista said after some inspection.

Draco rubbed at the mark.

Calista left the tent as fast as she came.

"It's just after the full moon, some are a little more grumpy than normal." Sage shrugged. "Alpha wants to see you tomorrow so rest."

With that he left Draco alone.

 _AN: So, this is my first story and there'll be some mistakes in it. But I hope you guys like it._

 _Oh and I won't always update this fast, but the first chapter was really short and I've vacation so I've the time._


	3. Chapter 3: Nothing to worry about

Draco thought it would be difficult to sleep with all the new knowledge in his head, and more important, with all the new questions spinning in his mind. But the pain was paying a price and he grew tired. He found out that the pelts were quite comfortable, not as comfortable as his silk sheet home, but still comfortable. It didn't take long before he was in a deep sleep.

There was again poking in his side when he woke up. He grumbled and turned, still half asleep.

"Get up, pup," a low voice ordered. Draco scolded in return.

"Alright." The person walked away and sleep caught Draco again.

It didn't last long. A shock of cold had him sitting upright immediately. Water droplets dripped from his hair. He turned around to look at the offender. Greyback looked laughing back.

"First lesson pup, listen to your higher ones," he grinned.

Draco shook his head and the water droplets splashed everywhere.

Grumbling he stood and faced the werewolf.

He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. There was blood on them coming from the bite wound. He winced a little when he rolled his shoulders.

"Yeah? Are you ready?" asked Greyback impatient. He didn't wait for an answer and started walking out of the tent.

"Why in Merlin's name would you think I should follow you?" Draco snarled.

"Well, pup, you can be the stubborn pureblood prince, which as the matter of fact you aren't anymore, and stay here so I have to drag you out. Or you can be a brave pup and spare me the effort and you the pain, and just follow me. Alpha wants to see you."

Draco's curiosity took the better of him. "Wait, so you are not the Alpha?"

"No," Greyback growled. He didn't stop walking, but tensed with the question. It was clear that he wanted to be an Alpha.

Draco started to follow him. He wanted to know who this Alpha was as he could master Greyback. Draco had seen Greyback earlier in wolf form. He was a big black wolf with some pretty nasty scars. Standing on his hind legs he would be at least two meters tall. He could take down a human with ease. A werewolf with a little difficulty, but all the same. As a human he was less impressive. He didn't keep track on hygiene and unfortunately, Draco noticed that he could smell him even more with his new wolf senses.

He and Greyback walked all the way to the outer ring. On their way, Draco looked around. Some werewolves tried to hide their stares, but most just stared openly. Draco stared back. They were all wearing pelts which didn't hide a lot. Draco felt at unease in his filthy expensive robes. Aside from Draco was Greyback the only one who was clothed like a wizard. He swallowed his next question and was silent the whole way to the Alpha.

The Alpha's tent was larger than the rest, but not boisterous big. He still had to duck to go inside.

"Finally," stated a deep hoarse voice. The Alpha, it was clear that he was the Alpha, was about two meters long, had a tanned skin and his long black hair was held together with a leather band, just like Sage's hair, although the Alpha had little braids in his hair. He held his hands on his back and turned to the newcomers.

"So this is the new pup?" It was not really a question, but Greyback answered it still.

"Yes my Alpha." He bowed his head to which the Alpha nodded. The large man turned his stare to Draco. Draco didn't bow, but just stared back. He hoped that the man couldn't smell his nervosity or his fear.

"Interesting," the man said. "Get Gillean and let him show the pup around. I want him settled before the next full moon."

"Yes my Alpha." Greyback bowed his head again, but the Alpha wouldn't even look at him. He had his head tilted slightly while he observed the new addition to his pack. He nodded once more to himself and turned around with his hands still on his back.

Greyback walked out of the tent and Draco followed him. Greyback seemed to be in a pissed mood. His steps were a bit louder than normal and he had a scolded look on his face.

"Gillean!" he called the moment they were in the inner circle again. A boy from Draco's age appeared. He had messy curly brown hair with hazel eyes. His grin was mischievous and made him look younger. He was about 1.80 long and was dressed in the same pelts the rest of the pack was.

"Beta, how nice to see you," he mocked. He turned his attention to Draco. "And who is this? A new pup. Did he have his first full moon already?"

"Yes and no. Show him around," Greyback answered curtly.

"An order from Alpha?" the curly haired boy asked.

"Does that matter?" Greyback snarled. The boy didn't flinch when Greyback showed his yellow teeth. Draco had to hold himself back from flinching. "Yes, it is an order from Alpha." He sighed and walked away.

"What a happy fellow, don't you agree?" Gillean asked Draco. When Draco didn't respond, the boy continued talking. "So how did you become a werewolf? It is quite obvious that you weren't born like one. Wrong time, wrong place?"

"Punished," Draco answered shortly.

"Ah, well, it isn't that bad. If you skip the whole pain part where you wish you would die. It could be actually quite nice," Gillean grinned. He counted the positive points on his fingers. "Better senses, stronger muscles, the pack and a mate if you can find one. The only negative points are the pain and being outcasted from the rest of the wizard world." He smiled and Draco felt himself smiling back a little.

"What is a mate?" he asked.

"You don't know what a mate is? Oh, yeah, you're a newbie. It's seldom that a werewolf meets his or her mate. But when they do… It's like, how did muggles call them? Ah yeah, soulmates. It's like that. You can smell who your mate is. They say that werewolves who have met their mates don't want anyone else anymore. Don't worry, before you meet your mate you can choose any women you want. I don't really know the specifics of the mating bond. If you want to know you have to ask one of the mated wolves." Gillean shrugged after telling.

"Look, you're gonna life in the inner circle. That's where the weak live. Ssshh. I know you are not weak, I can smell that. But it is also where the newbies stay. When you have changed more often, you'll probably move to the outer ring." Draco was still a little offended. He was a Malfoy! Malfoy were the stronger ones. While he was still grumbling, Gillean moved on.

"This is your tent. To help you get used to the pack I'll place my tent next to yours." The curly haired boy waved with his wand and mumbled something and his tent was placed next to Draco's.

"How much do you actually know about werewolves?" Gillean asked. This caught Draco off guard. The whole time he had just nodded at everything Gillean had said, except for that one question.

"Uhh, I know about wolfsbane," he answered sheepishly.

"Well, that's not quite an use. 'Cause we won't be using any here." Draco looked shocked at the other boy.

"But how… how can you control yourself?" he asked.

Gillean shrugged. "It takes some practice. How stronger your mind is, how easier it is to control the wolf. But the wolf is still part of you." He looked at Draco and clapped on his shoulder. "Don't worry, newbie. It'll be fine. I'm wondering what kind of wolf you are." He drifted off in thought for some time.

"Hey! Gi, who is that pup there with you?" a voice yelled.

"Hey Davi!" Gillean yelled back. "Come," he said to Draco before he caught his wrist and pulled him with him.

"This is a new one bitten by Greyback," he told the new boy. The other boy had black hair which was cut short, but still long enough to run his hand through it, like he just did. He had an earring in his left ear. Where Gillean more slim was, was Davi tougher build.

"Another one? Alpha won't be happy." Davi ran again his hand through his hair and looked worried.

"Yea-" started Gillean, but Draco interrupted him.

"He didn't look that disappointed," Draco defended. He didn't want to be a werewolf, but that didn't mean that the Alpha shouldn't be happy with this new power in his pack.

"You've met the Alpha?" the new boy asked surprised.

"Yes, why? Is that special?" Draco felt his self confidence rise.

"Quite. But I think it has more something to do with Greyback. Alpha thinks he's up to something. Greyback never liked it that Alpha became Alpha," answered Gillean.

"He wanted to become Alpha himself," Davi added.

"But what do I have to do with it?" Draco questioned.

"The Dark Lord wants to take over the wizard world, right?" Davi asked, but he continued without waiting for an answer. "Well, Greyback wants to be an Alpha. When he is an Alpha he can order the whole pack to help the Dark Lord. Alpha doesn't want that. Greyback thinks there will be a better future under the Dark Lord, but Alpha has seen the Dark Lord in action. Alpha's mate was a muggleborn witch. She was murdered in the First Wizard War. The Dark Lord underestimates the matingbond from werewolves. Nobody really knows when Greyback will take over and how he will. But he has been biting new people. Most of the time pups are close to the one who had bitten them. It is kinda like the mating bond, only weaker."

"It's probably the reason why Alpha has ordered Greyback to let me show you around," Gillean said. "But don't worry about it for now. Just worry about your first full moon." Gillean _,_ patted him on his back and walked away.

 _Great_ , Draco thought, _Another thing to add to my list for things I most certainly have to worry about_.

 _ **AN:**_ _A little background information to make this story more clear._

 _It takes places when they are around 17 years old. Harry, Ron and Hermoine have destroyed all the horcruxes, but just didn't have the chance to destroy Voldemort. Voldemort found out that they had destroyed his horcruxes, but his soul was too damaged to make new ones. He is trying to find new ways to become immortal once again._

 _Please let me know what you think._


	4. Chapter 4: Full Moon and realizations

It was difficult adjusting to the packlife. It was nothing like the life Draco was used to. He was used to luxury. Not to having to sleep almost outside. But he strangely enjoyed it. He became closer to Gillean and Davi and met some other pack members as well.

The whole month Draco didn't see either Greyback or Alpha and he was okay with that.

However, one thing Draco did miss was his mother. When he asked about her, Davi had growled and told him that they were his family now. Gillean added that his mother had been contacted and that he did not have to worry about her. It would be safer for her to not be around him. Certainly when he still couldn't control the wolf inside him.

Later Gillean explained that Davi had been bitten when he was five and his parents had abandoned him. The pack had been the only family Davi had known.

"When were you bitten?" Draco asked Gillean one day.

Gillean laughed. "You know, that's quite a private question for most werewolves." He shrugged. "But I was bitten over a year ago, maybe one and a half. It was an accident. I was too close to the forest at full moon." He shrugged again. "He couldn't help it. But you know, being a werewolf isn't that bad. Speaking of which, the full moon is tonight. Are you ready?"

Draco laughed. "I don't think I will ever be ready." Gillean clapped him on the back.

"Davi and I are there for you, alright newbie?" Draco sighed when he heard the nickname. He got the feeling that Gillean would still call him newbie when they were both seventy.

Seventy. The realization hit him. Being a werewolf was for life. Just like Davi said, the pack was his family. It was like there was a life before becoming a werewolf and one after. Was there a Draco before and after as well? He guessed there was. No, he had changed at the battle of Hogwarts. He had realized then that everyone was the same.

When he was surrounded with blood and death, he saw that all the blood was red. Whether it was from a death eater or from a muggleborn. Because when you were dead it didn't matter who your parents were, you were dead all the same.

In the middle of the battle he heard a loud cry. He turned around and saw one of the Weasleys holding a fallen Weasley. The last Weasley had a faint smile on his lips but his body was lifeless. The older Weasley held his brother and kept muttering denyings.

He had to go on, but the image was crafted in his mind. Just like so many other images. Like the death of the young Creevey and the death of his own father. Both of them died under the sectumsempra spell and the blood on their clothes was the same colour.

Draco had realised at that time that all those pureblood propaganda was useless. In the end it didn't matter.

But his father pulled him into this mess and there would be no escaping.

Draco had been careless after the battle. He had done what the Dark Lord obliged, but he had done it half. That's why he was punished. Why he was cast out of the wizard world for good. An outcast, a half-breed. If only his father had lived long enough to see what Draco had become…

But his father was dead and with him died the beliefs he taught Draco from birth.

Twilight started and the sky was filled with different shades of the colours blue and purple. The whole pack was gathered in a circle.

"Why are we waiting here?" Draco whispered to Gillean who was standing next to him.

"We are waiting for the Alpha to take us to place where we'll transform," Gillean whispered back.

"Can't we just transform here?" Draco asked.

Gillean chuckled. "We don't have room here to run or we'll destroy all the tents. To do that every full moon is kind of useless. Speaking of which, it's the same with our clothes."

"Clothes?" Draco asked dumbly.

Gillean leaned in. "More like no clothes." By seeing the horrified expression on Draco's face he grinned. "You don't wanna ruin those clothes, do you? They look expensive." He was right. Draco was still wearing the same expensive clothes in which he arrived. He had cleaned them every once in a while, but he didn't have any other clothes with him and he refused to wear the primitive pelts the rest of the pack wore.

Now he was torn between ruining his only clothes and showing his naked form to people he barely knew.

When everyone started undressing, Draco decided he didn't want to stand out and followed their lead.

Gillean was still grinning at him.

"What!" Draco sneered.

Gillean held his hands up. "Nothing, nothing." He didn't stop grinning.

Davi joined them. When he saw the sour expression on Draco's face, he could only just stop himself from grinning like Gillean.

The moon started to rise and the two werewolves became serious. Draco stared at the moon with rising panic. He didn't like not to be in control.

Nothing could have prepared him for the pain. First there was nothing and then suddenly his whole body was on fire. Every nerve screamed. Hair was sprouting out of his skin. His hands turned into claws. Every bone in his body broke and was transformed. He screamed till he had no voice.

He blacked out for a minute and was woken by someone poking in his side. Is this going to be a tradition? His clouded brain wondered.

He opened his eyes to find a gold brown wolf standing before him.

Gillean.

He recognized his smell.

The day after he was bitten all his senses had improved, but they had improved even more now he was a wolf.

He was a wolf.

He looked at his paws. They were covered with white fur.

Another wolf came into the view. Davi's wolf form was as black as his hair in human form. He licked his muzzle affectionately and did the same with Gillean. They returned the action and started playing. They froliced on the earth, hunted down some rabbits and played with some other pack members. Draco noticed that he was larger and stronger than most of them.

Before transforming, Draco had feared he would lose control. Luckily, he only lost control when he smelled a prey. As soon as he smelled a rabbit, his wolf instinct kicked in.

A half hour before sunrise, a blond wolf approached Draco. He didn't recognized the wolf's smell, but he could smell that he was pack. Behind him he could hear Gillean and Davi growling. The new wolf ignored them and circled Draco. Draco didn't know that wolves could sneer, but apparently they could.

Draco growled in the back of his throat. The wolf didn't flinch, but stopped moving. His muzzle was facing Draco's. He lifted his lip and showed his teeth. Draco was still growling when he showed his teeth as well. The wolf snarled in response and walked away.

The sun started rising and all thoughts about the unknown wolf were banished from his mind when the pain took over.

White fur disappeared. Bones were broken for the second time and renewed again. His claws became human hands and Draco was left panting on the ground when the transformation ended.

"Come on newbie," Gilleans voice cracked, while he offered his hand. Draco took the hand and pulled himself up. His whole body felt sore. Gillean chuckled when he saw him flinching.

"Don't worry. Another perk of being a werewolf is that we heal fast. Tomorrow you won't feel a thing anymore."

Draco had a hard time believing this.

 _AN:_

 _Another chapter! Still from Draco's perspective, but don't worry there'll be one from Hermoine's perspective soon._

 _Who'll be the unknown wolf? He'll play an interesting part in the story, but I won't spoil anything else._

 _Thank you for reading and let me know what you think. :)_


	5. Chapter 5: A Stupid Plan

_**Chapter 5**_

 _Hermione_

"'Mione!"

Hermione sighed when she recognized the voice.

"'Mione! Are you in there?!" called the voice again. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes Ron, I'm in here," she answered irritated. _Where would I be otherwise?_

The library door opened and a familiar face surrounded with red hair appeared. He smiled, ignorant to her irritation.

"What is it Ronald?" she asked as he walked in the room. His smile didn't falter when he heard her tone.

"Missed me?" he asked smugly.

"I have just seen you at breakfast this morning." She could barely hold back another sigh.

"What are you doing here?" she tried again when he made no move to say anything.

"I was wondering if you needed any help."

"I am fine," she answered shortly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Ron. Believe me I am capable of doing research by myself," she snapped.

"I was just trying to help," he defended.

Hermione took a breath to contain herself. She closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them she smiled at Ron.

"Yes Ron, I know. But I am fine. I really am. Maybe you could go look if Harry needs any help?" she offered.

He sighed defeated and turned around. He stopped by the door and spinned around one more time.

"Seriously 'Mione, if you need help…" he said.

She nodded and smiled. Her cheeks began to hurt from the fake smile. She couldn't hold it long. Luckily Ron left the room to find Harry.

Ron was one of her best friends and she loved him. But he could be really frustrating most of the time. Ever since he came back after he left them when they were on Horcrux hunt, he tried to make it up to them. Especially to her.

However, she needed peace if she wanted to finish this before the war ended.

She opened the book in front of her again.

 _Werewolves and their weaknesses_.

Fenrir Greyback was planning something. The order had been signaled of attacks of the werewolf. This wasn't strange, seeing as the werewolf loved attacking other people. But there was a sequence in the attacks. All the offended had been boys from around Hermione's age. All the boys were fit build and bitten at full moon. After the full moon they disappeared.

And that was strange.

Hermione knew from Lupin that Greyback didn't care about the ones he had bitten. If he didn't care, why would he take them to his pack?

She bit her lip and tapped the quill against the paper. She needed to figure this out. It could have a great impact on the war.

It was ten o'clock when Hermione finally came down to eat supper.

"Could you rip yourself from your books?" Harry chuckled. She sent him a glare.

Molly give him a clap against the back of his head. "Don't mind him, honey. Here, you're far too skinny. You should pause some time to eat, you know."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." She took the bowl of hot soup from her. "The war doesn't pause."

"And it won't be won when you have died of hunger or insomnia," she answered wisely. Hermione refrained herself from a reply. She ate the soup in silence. Harry waited patiently till she was finished. When she returned the bowl to Molly, he began.

"Have you found anything yet?" he asked eagerly. She shook her head.

"Werewolves are distant creatures and keep most of their secrets within their pack. I'm afraid that this time I'll not find any answers in books." She waited a few moments before she went on. "I have a plan."

"Tell." He lowered his voice and eyed Molly, who was washing to bowl and was softly singing to herself. He nudged his head and she followed him to the other room. After checking if it was empty, she whispered a few spells and continued.

"I have to get to the pack and see if I can get any secrets out of them."

"Are you crazy?!" Harry whispered/ screamed. "What if you get bitten?!"

Hermione shrugged. "It will be a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"It is official. The Brightest Witch of Her Age has lost her mind," Harry muttered dramatically.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "This war needs to end. If this is what it takes, I'll do it with pleasure."

Harry felt silent for a few minutes.

"Okay, I'll agree to this plan on one condition." He lifted one finger. "You'll first try to get the information out of them without becoming one of them." She knew they wouldn't tell any secrets to a non-pack member, but for Harry's sake she agreed. He had already too much on his mind without adding his best friend becoming a monster to it.

"I'll, Harry," she promised. He hugged her.

"Please be careful," he whispered in her ear. She could only nod in response as the tears began leaking out her eyes. She needed to be strong for them.

Tonight would be full moon. She decided that she would leave this morning at six and try to find the pack. Surely a pack this large can't hide very well.

She had decided against saying goodbye to her friends. She had said goodbye to Harry. If she would say goodbye to any of the others they would ask what she would do. She didn't have the heart to lie to them. And if she would tell them the truth, Lupin would try to talk her out of it and Ron would bind her to her bed.

No. It was better this way.

Harry promised her that if she wasn't back by the end of the week, he would tell the others about her plan. She made him make another promise with the same deadline. If she wasn't back by the end of the week, he wouldn't follow her and try to rescue her. She told him she could manage herself and that his task was to kill Voldemort. She was too unimportant to be saved while he was killed. He denied this, but she took his head in her hands and forced him to look into her eyes. She told them again that winning this war was more important than her life. Ultimately, he could do no other than promise her that he wouldn't follow her.

With a last glance to the safehouse where she had lived since the horcrux hunt, she turned around and headed forwards.

 _Draco_

The next few months passed with little action aside from the full moon. Sometimes Draco would meet the blond wolf again. They would growl to each other and the last full moon the wolf tried to bite Draco. He never saw the wolf in human form; he always disappeared before sunrise.

Gillean and Davi avoided his questions about the strange wolf. Draco knew they knew who he was.

A day before the next full moon, an unfamiliar surfblond boy strolled to Draco. He didn't have to smell to know who it was.

"What do you want," he snarled.

"Well, you're quite aggressive for a pup," the boy answered, one eyebrow lifted. "Where're your bodyguards?"

Draco growled.

"I would've thought the Malfoy heir would have more manners, what would your poor mother think?" As soon as he had finished that sentence, Draco launched himself on the boy and grabbed his throat. He growled in the boy's face. The boy's brown eyes switched to yellow.

"That was a mistake," he whispered in a low voice. Before Draco could react to this statement, he was turned around and fell with his back on the ground.

"Let's teach you a lesson, pup. I am the boss here. Listen to my rules and you can live. Ignore my rules and you'll wish that you were dead," he growled. The boy let go of his shirt and left him on the ground. He stood and wiped the dirt of his clothes. He looked down to Draco and smirked. He had the guts to smirk to Draco Malfoy.

Oh, this boy would regret crossing him.

 _AN:_

 _Okay, I've figured out the time line, maybe a little late, but yeah... Anyway. The battle of Hogwarts takes places in the year 1998. In that same summer Draco was bitten._

 _In this chapter you read that he has been living with the pack for a few months now. Let's say his first full moon was the 9th of July, then they're now in September. The next full moon, which will be in the next chapter is the sixth of September._

 _In the next chapter Draco and Hermione will meet. It won't be easy for them of course._

 _Thank you for reading and let me know what you think! :D_


	6. Chapter 6: Confusing

Chapter 6

Hermione

More brave than she felt she walked into the woods. She hoped that if she walked far enough she would accidentally (or actually not accidentally) cross the werewolf territory. There might be not very much known from werewolves, but there were a lot of books about wolves and they stated that wolves were very protective over their territory. If she would cross it, they would notice it and there was no way they would let a human invade their territory unpunished.

After two hours walking, Hermione had cursed her feet in English, French and German. After another half an hour, she was out of curse words and just kept repeating bloody hell.

"How bloody big is this damned forest!" she swore after another hour.

"Well it depends if you're walking in circles," answered a deep smooth voice. She jumped at the sound and turned to the source of the voice.

A blond boy was leaning against a tree and watched her amused.

"Seeing anything you like?" she sneered, knowing that her hair looked more like a birds nest than it had ever, with all the twigs and leaves in it.

"Actually yes," he replied chuckling softly. She lifted one eyebrow. "But the question is, what are you doing in this part of the woods? It's no place for a pretty girl like you." She scoffed.

"I'm looking for the werewolf pack," she answered, on purpose not implying that he was one. If he was not a werewolf, he would've been offended that she thought he was a half-breed. If he was a werewolf, it was only fortune.

"A witch looking for a werewolf pack in the day from the full moon," he stated. "Not so bright are you?" She narrowed her eyes at him at which he chuckled again.

"But lucky for you, you've found one of the members of the pack you were searching."

She decided to push away her pride and asked eagerly: "Can you take me to them?"

"Now, now," he said, pushing himself from the tree and prowling towards her. He stopped a meter before her. "Tell me, why would I?" he whispered, his breath hovering over her face.

She had already pushed her pride away, what could it hurt to go further?

"The question is more why wouldn't you?" she whispered seductively. The boy moaned softly at hearing her voice.

"Alright witch, you got yourself a deal. Make sure you won't regret it," he gave in. He spinned on his heel and turned away from her. Taking this as a hint she followed the wolf deeper in the forest.

She made a mental note about how vulnerable wolves were the day before full moon.

Draco

"Who is he?!"

Gillean and Davi weren't going to get away without answering this time.

Although Draco was still a pup, he was quite a strong one. Especially with all the training the pack did. His muscles grew, but he kept his slim figure. The pack trained to keep a good posture; a fat wolf wouldn't catch a prey.

Gillean cowered a little under the impressive Malfoy stare. Davi, however, stood tall and met his gaze.

"Matteo," he answered bored. Draco started pacing.

"What does he want?" he asked.

"Simple," Gillean replied. "He wants power."

After the encounter with Matteo and the explanation from Davi and Gillean, Draco returned to his tent, while he walked back he suddenly caught smell of something.

Apples, autumn and something unique which he already loved.

He had to know where this smell was coming from.

He turned away from his tent and started following the smell. He came closer and closer until he finally…

"Malfoy?"

"Malfoy."

The same word. One questioned. One sneered.

He went to sneer back at Matteo when he saw the other person who had spoken.

"Granger?" he asked in the same surprised way she had done. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?!"

Granger straightened her spine. "That is none of your business, Malfoy."

"You know each other?" Matteo asked, clearly amused by the situation.

"Yes, I went to school with this ferret," Granger replied without looking at Draco.

Draco ignored her insult and gripped her wrist. Before she could do as much as complain he had pulled her towards him. He clenched his teeth when he smelled another whiff of the wonderful aroma.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?! Have you lost your mind?! This is a werewolf pack if you didn't notice!" he whispered/ screamed at her.

"Let me go," she hissed. He loosened his grip, but didn't let go. "Yes I've noticed this is a werewolf pack. You can accuse me of a lot, but I'm not dumb, Malfoy."

"No, you're an idiotic gryffindor. This is probably one of your great sacrifice plans," he hissed back. Their faces were close. Too close.

Draco let go of her wrist, but continued the discussion.

"Do you've any idea what time it is tonight? It's fucking full moon!" he snarled. "Do you want to get yourself killed?!"

"Even if I would, why would that be your concern?! There will just be another mudblood less in the world!" she screamed back.

He crunched when she said the word. "You. Have. No. Idea," he said between clenched teeth.

"Oh, please enlighten me, Malfoy. Let me guess, you have changed?" she sneered.

"Don't you dare.." he began, but he stopped himself. "You know what. You're right. You're always right, aren't you? You're the Brightest Witch of Her Age. So go ahead, walk to your death with your nose held high."

She huffed and turned towards Matteo. Draco had forgotten about his existence. He growled softly when she walked away with him. He only stopped with growling when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay," the old Sage told him. Draco snapped back to reality. He was feeling a little dizzy.

"What was that?" he asked the wise wolf.

"That pup, was your mate."

 _AN: This chapter is shorter than the others, but I wanted to end it with this ending. Can you call it a cliffhanger?_

 _Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and still enjoy the story. Let me know what you think of it. :)_


	7. Chapter 7: Mate

Draco

"Mate?! You got to be kidding me! That can't be my mate! She… she's… she can't! It's impossible," rambled Draco, but he knew it was true. He could smell it. Still, it was impossible!

"She hates me!" he yelled in frustration to the old man. He stared pacing in front of Sage and sent scolding looks to the old wolf. The werewolf was less than impressed with Draco's aggression. It looked more like desperation to him. Sadly enough, it was.

"No no no no," maundered Draco.

Sage waited patiently until Draco came to a realization. It took him some time. He was still pacing and mumbling. Finally, he sat on the ground and put his head in his hands. He pulled his hair.

"She's my mate," he said softly, barely accepting what he had just said.

"Yes pup. Indeed, she is."

"Fuck! And she just left with that tosser!" Another realization seeped into Draco. He tried standing, but Sage was holding him back. The wrinkled wolf was stronger than he seemed.

Draco growled low in the back of this throat.

"This is not the right time, little wolf," the wise man said.

"What do you mean 'this is not the right time?!' It is almost full moon! She is in the middle of the pack! She could be killed or bitten!" Draco screamed back in panic. "She is such an idiot," he added irritated. Sage chuckled softly. Draco sent him a scowling look and tried to get up again.

"Your mate walked into this all on her own. Didn't you say she was the Brightest Witch of Her Age?"

"Yeah, well, she is quite dumb for being the Brightest Witch of Her Age," he replied.

"If I let you go now, you'll go after her. You'll probably scream some more. She'll be as stubborn as you are. But she is less strong than you are. So you'll pick her up and get her out of the forest before full moon. She'll hate you and you'll never see her again. Is that what you want?" The old man was right.

"Well, she'll BLOODY LIVE!" he yelled.

"Are you sure she doesn't have a plan? She was smart, you said." And Sage was right again. Hermione Granger always had a plan. She would probably have at least two plans. That stupid witch was getting under his nails since high school. He grumbled softly as answer.

"There you go," Sage said and he loosened his grip on Draco. The young wolf started to stand up again, but the old man still held him back.

"I may not know you long, but I recognize that glint in your eyes and I know you'll ignore everything I said as fast as I let you go." Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, but didn't try to stand up again.

Hermione

What was he doing here? Had he been punished by Voldemort? Why did he react so strange?

This was not the Draco Malfoy she had known in school, but then again the battle had changed everyone, herself included.

Still, when she called his name out of surprise she had thought he would sneer at her. She was used to him insulting her and her blood status. But the only thing he did was yell at her that she was stupid to be here. Why would he care? When she had yelled back that if she would be killed, there would be just another mudblood out of the world, there flashed a look of hurt over his face. He had said she knew nothing about his life. Well, Hermione did not like to admit that someone else was right when she wasn't, but she did not know much about his life. All she knew was superficial. The Malfoys were known for being cold and thinking everyone was below them. How could she think that was all there was to them? But then again, how couldn't she? They were masters at keeping their thoughts.

"Don't mind him," a voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and saw the boy she met in the woods smiling at her. They were in his tent and he was pouring some liquid in two glasses. He handed one to her. "He's just a low pup."

She downed her glass. It tasted like firewhiskey. "Pup? So there are different ranks?"

The boy followed her example and licked his lips. He laughed softly. "Yes, there are." He poured himself and her another glass. "You have the Alpha, he is the leader. Below him are the Beta's. The strongest of them is second in command. And the rest is pack. Pups are newly bitten werewolves. Useless and weak." He snorted and downed his glass to refill it again, without noticing that Hermione emptied her glass on the ground.

"And you must be a Beta?" she asked, while she batted her lashes. He laughed dry and downed his third glass of firewhiskey, not offering Hermione this time.

"No honey, but I'm damn close," he rasped.

She stepped towards him and followed his jawline with a finger. "Oh? How so?"

He swallowed loudly. "We-" he began, when the tent opened and one older wolf stepped in. Hermione took a step back and the boy protested softly.

"Matteo? The moon will rise in 15 minutes," the newcomer announced.

"Shit!" cursed the other boy. "Can't… we.." He shook his head. He turned around and faced Hermione. Fuck. She hoped she wouldn't have to go through with this part of the plan.

"You're coming with me," Matteo growled, gripping her wrist and dragging her with him. The man just raised an eyebrow, but didn't protest.

She could fight him, but it was futile. The werewolf was about fifteen centimeters larger than she was and he was most certainly three times stronger. With fighting she would achieve nothing, if not only pain. So she let him drag her with him.

Sorry Harry, she whispered in her mind.

Draco

It was fifteen minutes before the moon would rise. Just like all the moons before, he stood with Davi and Gillean. This time he was joined by Sage.

Normally Sage would stand with the older werewolves, but it was clear that Sage didn't trust him with his mate close by. The old man was standing next to him, but didn't hold him back this time. What would the old man think he would do? Run after her? Yes, he would, he admitted to himself.

There were only five minutes left 'till the rise when his nose caught her smell. His whole body tensed and he was ready to run in the direction of the smell. Sage, of course, noticed and grabbed his arm.

"Not now, pup," he whispered. Draco would like to argue again if he knew it would've any effect. So he just stood there, burning in anger and cursing his new found mate.

 _AN: Ha, another chapter! And things are getting interesting. The question is: Will Hermione be bitten or will she find a way to escape? How will Draco react to any of these things? How will Hermione react when she finds out that she is mated to Draco Malfoy of all people._

 _Let me know what you think and I hope you like this chapter. :)_


	8. Chapter 8: White Wolf

_AN: SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! The last few days I had a lot to do, so I had little time to write. I was visiting some family and a friend.  
_

 _I hope for you guys that the weather is as good as it is here. 'Cause here it's sunny and warm and it doesn't rain for once._

 _Anyway, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think. :)_

Hermione

The moon could rise every moment now.

And Hermione was still standing in the middle of a pack full of werewolves.

She started to doubt her own sanity.

"Don't worry," a voice whispered in her ear. "I have been a werewolf since I can remember. My wolf side and human side are one. You're safe with me." Matteo smiled at her. Safe? Bullshit, she thought.

"You'll always be safe with me," he added while he looked at the rising moon. Okay, that sounded quite scary.

She nodded in answer and the howling began. Some wolves howled in ode to the moon, like Matteo. Mostly older wolves, she noticed. Maybe that had to do something with the fact Matteo mentioned, that his wolf side and human side were combined. Other wolves howled in pain.

Would Draco be among the last group, she wondered. It would be logical if so. He was still a pup and according to Matteo, it took time to combine your two halves. Would be in a lot of pain? I hope not, she thought.

Wait. What?!

She did not care about Draco Malfoy. If he was overrun by a bulldozer, she would congratulate the owner of it herself.

She pushed away her confused thoughts and focused on the surrounding werewolves. Oh yeah right, I'm the only human here.

All the wolves were transformed by now. Matteo, she guessed, was a blond wolf. He was of an average height compared to the other wolves. He looked up to her with his yellow eyes and she couldn't stop herself from taking a step back. And another one.

Wolf-Matteo grinned and Hermione decided that this was the most stupid plan she had ever had and that said a lot according to her history at Hogwarts.

Maybe she could still run away?

She looked around and saw the wolves surrounding her with a hungry glint in their eyes.

Maybe not.

Wolf-Matteo took a step forwards. She took one back. Another step forwards from the blond wolf. Another one back from her. This repeated a few times until she was pressed with her back to a tree. She gripped the bark with her hands and tried hard to think of a solution.

None came.

Suddenly, in the group wolves surrounding her there was a ripple. Someone was trying to make his way through. The wolf succeed.

It was a completely white wolf. He looked disheveled. His muzzle was bleeding and he was panting loudly. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place it.

Behind him appeared three other wolves. All in the same state as he was, perhaps even worse. The other wolves barked to the first one. The white wolf turned his head and growled in response. He shook his head and walked to her.

This didn't go unnoticed.

Matteo turned around and growled to the new wolf. The white wolf wasn't impressed and stopped a few centimeters before the blond one. The responsive growl was loud and vibrated through the forest. A shudder went through Matteo, but he didn't move. It looked like Matteo grinned. Both she and the wolf realized too late what he was planning.

He turned around and sprinted towards her. He bit hard in her left leg, before she could even move. She groaned as the pain washed over her. Slowly she fell to the ground and could look straight into the yellow eyes. Triumph, she recognized in the yellow orbs.

Even fast as the attack, yellow was replaced by white. If she thought that the growl earlier was loud, than this one was deafening.

The white wolf grumbled, growled, snarled and bit. Matteo was left to the ground panting. None of the other wolves tried to help either of them.

When the white wolf was certain that the other wolf was defeated, he moved to her. She gripped the tree bast again and tried crawling away. The wolf made a low whistle. Reaching her, he pushed his head softly against her side and lied down.

The whole night he stayed with her and when a wolf tried to get closer, he growled softly in warning. When the sun came up, she had lost so much blood that she drifted off in unconscious.

Draco

"Shitshitshitshit!" rambled Draco, while pacing around an unconscious Hermione.

"Hey-" Gillean couldn't say more before Draco interrupted him.

"NO! IT'S NOT GONNA BE OKAY!" Pacing again. "CAN'T YOU SEE HOW MUCH BLOOD SHE HAS LOST?!" He dropped on his knees and cradled Hermione.

"Ehh Draco," Gillean began again.

"What?!" he yelled.

"Don't you think she is going to freak out when she sees you in this state?" Gillean pointed to his still very naked body.

"Fuck," Draco cursed. He looked around frantic, as if the solution for all his problems was just going to appear.

It didn't.

He picked Hermione up and placed her in his arms. "We need to get her to safety! She needs a healer!"

"Draco-" said Gillean again.

"Where's your healer?" Draco demanded.

"We don't have one."

"WHAT?!"

"Draco-"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DON'T HAVE ONE?!"

"We-"

"SHE CAN'T… SHE- SHE-.."

"DRACO!" Gillean yelled, effectively shutting the other wolf up. "She is going to be okay. A werewolf wound always bleeds like this. You didn't know, because you were unconscious too, when you were bitten. You've never seen someone being made a werewolf. I have. Believe me she is going to be okay."

Draco opened his mouth and closed it again, to open it for another time. "She's…" He swallowed. "She's going to be a werewolf?"

If she survives she is, Gillean thought. It was true what he told Draco. Werewolf wounds always bleed like that. But not everyone who got bitten survived the wound. One look at the frantic wolf in front him, told him that it was better that Draco didn't know.

"She is," he answered.

"Oh Merlin. She is going to kill me," Draco whispered.

 _AN: Ha another cliffhanger. I'm so mean, sorryyy._


	9. Chapter 9: Bite

_AN: Ahhh, an update on time, I'm afraid you won't see this often, 'cause school is beginning soon and I can't deny my homework by then anymore._

 _I'll continue this story, of course, so don't worry if I post late when next week is starting._

 _Oh yeah, I want to thank Shadowstorm11: First of all thank you for your reviews on every chapter, you really make my day. :) And secondly, in the original document, I did indeed use italics for the thoughts, but somehow it changed when I uploaded it, but thanks for the suggestion._

 _Oh and have a nice Ascension Day (is that the correct translation?)._

 _I hope you like the story and please let me know your thoughts. :D_

 _Hermione_

So much light. So much pain.

She blinked with her eyes. The light did not go away, neither did the pain.

"Dear, you have to get up," a high voice ordered. She ignored the voice and pretended to be asleep.

"Darling, I know you're awake," the voice said again. Hermione grumbled in response.

"Yes I know, but you still have to get out the bed."

Hermione opened her eyes and looked straight into blue ones.

"Where am I?" she asked hoarse.

She observed the woman in front of her. Her skin was tanned, which made her blue eyes pop out, but it made a strange contrast with her orange hair. Her hair was braided into a knot, which existed out of more small braids. She was wearing pelts. Hermione knew this was an important fact, but her brain didn't seem to work.

"Safe. You're with the pack," the woman smoothed.

Hermione jolted upright. Something clicked.

"Pack?" It was a question, but when the words slipped her tongue, she knew the answer.

It all came back.

Matteo. Malfoy. The wolves. The white wolf. _Who was he?_

"Ma'am, do you know a white wolf?" she asked the woman.

"Talia, dear. And no, I don't think so. Why? Is he the one who bit you?" Hermione grumbled.

"No," she shook her head. "Just a wolf I saw and I was curious about who he was." She skipped the detail about him watching over her after she got bitten.

Talia shrugged. "Maybe you recognize him. A werewolf's wolf form looks like the human form. Or the other way around. Either way, if you don't, you can see the wolf again next full moon. Now let's look at that wound of yours, darling."

Talia pulled the blanket away and observed her leg. It stopped bleeding, but it was still sore and red.

Talia paled at the sight.

"What is it?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Nothing, dear," Talia tired to brush away, however, her brows were still furrowed. She looked up in Hermione's cryptic eyes. Her face softened. "It's going to be fine, darling."

"What is it?" Hermione asked again with a bit more force. Talia met her eyes once more and discovered that she wasn't getting away with a lie.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "To be honest, dear, I'm not sure. I'm not a healer and this wound is nothing like any bite I've seen."

"Is it bad?" Hermione looked at the wound.

"Well, it doesn't have to be. Like I said, I haven't seen anything like it before. So, I'll give you some sleeping draught and we'll see if it heals on its own." Talia started rumbling in a bag and gave her the sleeping draught. Hermione gulped the potion and the unfinished sentence was left in the middle.

 _And if it doesn't heal on its own…_

 _Draco_

"Is she awake?" Draco stormed to the woman who emerged from Hermione's tent. He only just remembered to whisper.

"She was. I gave her a sleeping draught," Talia answered.

"What? Why?"

Hermione had been asleep for a full week. All this time Draco guarded her tent. He barely slept or ate. He despised the fact that he was so affected by her.

The day after full moon, Draco had commanded for a healer. Talia was the closest to one and after he had dragged her with him, she stopped by every day.

Draco wanted to check up on her himself, but he was afraid for what her reaction might be. She would probably scream and yell. And blame him.

Even if she didn't, he blamed himself.

He should have been more insisting. He should have dragged her away from the camp. Which sane person walked knowingly into a werewolf pack at full moon?

He was blazing with anger. At her for coming here in the first place. At the idiots who didn't stop her. At himself for not dragging her away. At bloody Matteo who had bitten her.

If he wasn't so concerned about Hermione, he would kill that bloody bastard.

"There was something strange with her wound," Talia answered.

"What?!" Draco stopped pacing and faced the woman.

"I didn't recognize it."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Oblivious to his anger, the wolf continued. "I mean that I have no idea what is wrong with it."

"WHAT?!"

Talia wasn't oblivious to his anger anymore.

"YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HEAL HER!" Draco yelled.

"She'll," Talia hoped.

"She'll? She has been sleeping for a fucking week!" The anger radiated from him. "And you gave her another sleeping potion!"

"Calm down pup," an old voice croaked. "She is doing all she can."

Sage appeared and put a hand on Draco's shoulder.

When Hermione was sleeping the only person who could come close to her tent beside Talia, was Sage. Draco didn't see him as a threat and he calmed him somehow. He just sat down beside him and started telling stories about his youth. About his years at Hogwarts, what he did when he worked at the ministry and how he was bitten.

The stories distracted Draco and, not that he would admit it, he relished them. He found himself looking forwards to the visits of the old wolf. They were a break from his constant worrying.

"She's saying that she doesn't know what is wrong with her! How is she supposed to heal her?!" Draco pulled on his hair.

"I shall take a look," the old man offered. He stooped and entered the tent. Draco followed after him.

Sage knelt down next to Hermione's still form.

"Where is the wound?" he asked.

"Her left leg." Draco began pacing in the little space the tent gave him.

Sage lifted the blanket and took a look at the wound. He whistled softly.

"What? What is wrong?" Draco looked at the bite. It looked red and puffy.

"I have not seen this often," Sage murmured. "I've only seen this once."

"Is that bad news?"

"It doesn't have to be."

Draco opened his mouth to retort.

"Calm down, pup. Your screaming isn't going to heal her."

Draco opened his mouth again and closed it. After a repeating this a few times, he clenched his teeth.

"What is wrong with her?" he asked, deadly calm.

"Her body is fighting against the werewolf curse. It doesn't want to accept it. The bite is stronger of course, but her body is quite strong as well. This only happens with very strong minded people."

 _Stubborn witch_ , Draco thought. _Even unconscious you're still frustrating_.

"And what did you mean with 'It doesn't have to be'?"

"Ah," Sage straightened and rubbed his forehead. "If her body keeps fighting like this, she might die from fatigue."

"What can we do? What can I do?" His voice sounded an octave higher than usual.

"We can do nothing. The battle takes place inside her body. The only thing we can do is wait and hope for the best."

"What?!" Draco shouted.

"Really, pup, you need to find a more creative word." With this Sage left Draco alone.


	10. Chapter 10: New

Hermione

The second time she woke she noticed that she was again, not alone.

An old man with long grey hair was watching her. "Good morning, Lupa," he greeted.

"Morning...?" Hermione hesitated.

"Where is Talia?" she asked, gaining her voice.

"Don't worry about her, pup, she's doing some pack business," the old man answered. "My name is Sage. I am one of the older wolves from our pack."

"Our?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, congratulated, you're a werewolf now," stated the old man happy.

Congratulated? As if anyone would want to be a werewolf.

Apparently her thoughts could be read from her face, as Sage continued. "I know it is not for nothing called the werewolf curse- transforming once a month in a ruthless monster is not quite fortunate-, but there are benefits. Maybe you have noticed that your senses have improved. You can hear things you couldn't before, you can smell things you couldn't have imagined, you can taste things beyond possible and above all, you can feel things which humans can only dream about." While saying the last sentence, he winked at her. It took a few seconds before she got it and when she did, a blush crept up its way to her face. Sage grinned at her.

"Well, let's look at your wound, for hopefully the last time," said Sage, turning serious. She pulled the blanket away to reveal her left leg.

The wound had completely healed. In its place was a still a bit reddish, scar.

"Well, it looks like your body has finally accepted the curse. To be honest, I was quite concerned. After Talia gave you the sleeping draught, you've slept for longer than you should've with the dose."

"How long have I slept?" she asked, her voice still hoarse.

"In total? Two weeks. You've slept a week before your short waking and a week after."

"Two weeks! I have slept two whole weeks?!" she sputtered.

"Yes, the young pup was quite concerned," Sage answered thoughtful.

"Pup? Matteo? He was the one who bit me. Why would he be concerned?" she asked.

"Matteo?" Sage asked confused. "No, no, not him. I haven't seen him in a while. How strange, if he bit you, he would probably… Ah, of course. That seems logic. There is no way he could've been here if…" he trailed off. "Oh, how forgetful of me. Can you walk?"

Hermione looked at her legs. "I can try."

With the help of the old wolf she got on her legs. She was still a bit unsteady, but with Sage's help she could indeed walk.

"Let's get you out of this tent," he said and together they walked out.

"Sage?"

"Hmm?"

"What is a Lupa? You called me that earlier," Hermione asked.

The old man chuckled.

"He did say you were the brightest witch of your age, no wonder you remembered."

"Who?"

He ignored her second question.

"Well, it's quite simple. A lupa is just a female wolf. And since you are one, I called you that."

"Of course." How can I be so stupid. After all that I've read about werewolves and wolves…

"Don't worry, pup. You can't remember everything always." He chuckled again.

But she should. She was Hermione Granger after all. Know-it-all, bookworm and just like he said, the brightest witch of her age. And somehow, even with all these titles, she ended up becoming a werewolf. Even Ron didn't manage that.

Ha, she could add that to her nicknames. Bookworm, Know-it-all, smartass, lupa, mudblood… Ah Malfoy.

He and her were in the same situation. Both new werewolves. Speaking of him, where was he?

"Sage? Have you seen a boy with white blond hair?" So white it would blind your eyes just by looking at it, she added in her mind.

Sage turned his head to her. "White blond? Ah, you mean the young pup. Yes, yes, I've seen him."

"Well?" she inquired, when he didn't continue.

"Oh, I think you shall see him soon enough. Come on, I'll show you the camp."

Draco

Draco was playing with his fingers.

"Man, you're deep in it," Gillean sighed. It had been another week since Hermione's short wake. After four days, Draco had weakened enough to be dragged away from her tent. Sage told them that they were lucky that the pair wasn't mated, otherwise they all would be dead by now.

Gillean and Davi had shoved food into his mouth and forced him to take a bath. He had some more colour on his cheeks than before, but they couldn't get rid of the dark circles under his eyes.

Draco only slept from pure exhaustion and still it wasn't by long enough.

If Hermione wouldn't wake up soon, Draco would elapse.

"Is it always like this?" Gillean asked Davi.

Davi shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. The only mated pairs I've seen were, well… mated. And since he isn't, I have no idea."

Gillean returned his look to Draco. He stepped to the sitting boy and waved a hand for his face.

"Dracooo," he called.

Nothing.

No response at all.

"Oh, man, I really hope that girl wakes up soon. I was starting to like this newbie."

Draco stirred.

Gillean didn't notice and kept on talking. "I was just getting used to having him around. I'll miss his pessimistic comments."

Davi rolled his eyes. "The way you talk about him makes it look like he's already dead."

"Well, you can't blame me. I mean, look at him!" He pointed to Draco, who stopped playing with his fingers and was now standing. "Draco?"

Draco didn't acknowledge him. He sniffed the air and looked around.

"I think he is losing his mind," Gillean whispered to Davi. "If he hasn't lost it already."

Davi stepped forwards and grabbed Draco by the shoulders, forcing him to look at him. Draco growled in response. This was the most responsive reaction they have gotten all week. All the times before, Draco had just stared to something they couldn't see.

Davi stumbled backwards at his response and Draco took this chance to get out the tent, leaving the two werewolves flabbergasted behind.

 _AN: This is kind of a fill-in-chapter. But there will be action, sometime. I don't know when yet._

 _I haven't written ahead anything, which is not quite smart, at second thought, but yeah... okayy I have to do with it._

 _I do have a story line in my head, I just need to get it on paper. You'll see what it is. Or what it will become._

 _Anyway, if there are any questions, I'm happy to answer them._

 _Please let me know what you think of it._

 _Thank you all for reading and I hope you like this chapter. :)_


	11. Chapter 11: intoxicated

_Hermione_

It was sad that she didn't have a quill and paper with her to write everything down. Sage told her so much. All she wanted to know about werewolves. Sometimes she got so into one of his explanations, that she had to remind herself that she couldn't look at it superficial anymore. She was one of them now. Everything he said, did occur to her as well.

It was strange. There seemed to be a life before she was bitten and one after. She voiced these thoughts to Sage.

"Ah, that's an excellent question, bright wolf," he said. After her millions of questions, Sage started to call her bright wolf as substitution of the brightest witch of her age.

"It's kind of the beginning of a new life. A different life. You'll notice your first full moon. You know that werewolves find it hard to be in control when the full moon rises, right?" At her nod, he continued. "Well, it comes with practice. The more full moons you've had, how easier it is to control yourself. The stronger the character of the wolf in question, the faster it goes. A strong minded lupa like you'll learn fast." He chuckled.

She shrugged.

"Oh, I am sure of it. You see there wa-." Hermione stopped listening when her newly high sensed nose got caught of something.

 _Mint, fresh mowed grass and something unique._

 _Where was it coming from?_

She didn't notice that Sage had stopped talking and watched her with interest, a hint of a smile on his face.

 _Fate is a funny thing_ , he thought while thinking back to forgotten times.

 _Draco_

 _Apples and autumn. Merlin this woman is intoxicating in a good and bad way._

Moving closer, the aroma got stronger.

Yes, he was sure, she was going to be the death of him.

As if last week didn't proof anything. He didn't sleep, didn't eat and how he wished he could have added didn't think to the list. But he did. He thought a lot.

He thought of nice things. _How would her hand feel? Would they be soft? And her hair? How would it be to run his fingers through it? Those pink lips, would she taste like she smells? Or would it be better?_

But then, he started worrying.

 _Morgana, she is going to skin me alive._

How would she react to being fated with her childhood nemesis?

She probably thought he still despised her because of her blood. Well, he did despise her, but not for a long time because of her blood. He despised her because of her know-it-all character, because she beat him in every subject, because she was best friends with Harry Potter, because of her frustrating bushy hair, which made him want to run his fingers through it, because she was always talking and then he had to look at her almost perfect mouth, because… because…

Ugh! Why couldn't he just get her out of his head!

The aroma got stronger. She was close, very close.

"Malfoy," she scoffed.

"Granger," he smirked. Internally he was screaming. _Can't she feel it too? Didn't they say that the bond went two ways?_ "I would say fancy seeing you here, but then I would be lying and that wouldn't be so proper, don't you think so?"

"As if you care about propriety," she sneered.

"Tsk, Granger. Don't let my mother hear you. She taught me to be raised a gentleman."

"Well, it's clear you were always more a daddy boy, seeing at how you turned out." She eyed his left forearm, where the dark mark is supposed to be. He subconsciously rubbed it.

"Didn't your mother taught you how to speak in certain company?"

"Well, go on," she said, moving her hands. Why was he watching those small hands with so much interest?

They look perfect. I wonder what they feel li-

"Say what you want to say," she continued, oblivious to his stare, which had transferred to her mouth. "I know you're dying to say it."

After a few long seconds, he managed to respond. "What?" he said hoarse.

She rolled her eyes.

 _Did they always looked gold?_

"How I have no manner because of my mudblood origin," she answered, as if stating the obvious.

"Don't call yourself that," he said softly, before he could stop himself.

"What?" She narrowed her eyes and the realization hit her. "What do you mean, 'Don't call yourself that'? You used to call me like that all the time when we were in school."

"Yes, but I've changed." As soon as he had said it, he noticed how cliche it sounded.

"You. Have. Changed," she repeated slowly.

"Yes, I have," he answered between clenched teeth.

She laughed. She actually laughed.

He balled his fists and tried to control his emotions. This girl was driving him insane.

"You have changed? The great Draco Malfoy has changed? For the better?" She grabbed her stomach and tried to control herself.

When she finally calmed down and whipped the tears of joy away, he continued.

"Haven't we all changed?" he asked.

The smile she had on her face was gone.

"War changes people," he added.

"Maybe," she answered.

And for now, that was all he was going to get.

He was seeing it as a chance.

Because maybe, maybe, they could be something. Maybe they could work.

 _AN: Hi again. Thank you all for reading. And I really thought this chapter was longer than it was, but I liked to end it here and it's late and I wanted to finish it today, for which I only have 5 minutes left..._

 _Anyway, here is the new chapter and I hope you guys will like it. Please let me know what you think. :D_

 _Oh, and if you've any suggests, feel free to voice them. I would like to read them, and well, you know, maybe I would include them._

 _Have a nice night/ day/ whatever._


	12. Chapter 12: The Order

_AN:_

 _Hi, guys! I'm sorry for the wait, but with school starting again and training and work, I'm quite busy. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

 _(There's another AN at the end of the chapter)._

 _The Order_

 _A week earlier_

It has been exactly 7 days, 10 hours, 12 minutes and 21 seconds, since Hermione was missing.

Well, missing. She wasn't really missing, seeing as she left willingly and knew that there was a high risk of not coming back.

 _Not for a while_ , Harry corrected himself.

He wasn't as panicked as the rest of the Order, but he wouldn't call himself relaxed.

 _Seven days_.

Harry knew what it meant. It meant something didn't go according plan. But being Hermione, she would have a plan for each letter of the alphabet.

She would survive.

Harry wouldn't let himself think otherwise. He just couldn't.

People might think that the war would be lost without the Boy Who Lived, but he knew better. To prove it, all he had to do was take a look at the people surrounding them. They ran around like ants without a leader. People were screaming at each other to get ready, to move or do something.

The day Hermione 'disappeared', Ron locked himself away in his chamber. He refused to come out for anything else than food. Lavender Brown tried to distract him, but after getting hexed once pretty badly, she withheld from it.

Molly became frantic and started crying at random times, like when Harry asked to pass the salt. Arthur tried to calm her down, but he was losing his energy rapidly.

Alastor Moody got even more moody than usual, which no one held for possible. He barked at everyone who got in his way.

When Minerva McGonagall heard of the disappearance of one of her favorite students, she paled and suddenly realized that nobody was safe. She tried to get a hold of herself and smiled patiently at everyone during the meetings, but Harry knew. He knew that the moment Hermione disappeared, McGonagall had begun to lose hope. Slowly, but most certainly.

Harry, himself, had discovered how much strength he got from Hermione. She was the one he could always turn to. Ginny tried to help him, but she couldn't replace Hermione. Hermione was like a sister to him. A big sister who always knew better, how frustrating it could be.

She held them all together. Without realizing it, Harry guessed. She never thought she was important. She always thought she just did what had to be done. She was not a heroine.

Without her, the Order was falling apart, they all knew it. They felt it. But no one knew where she was. No one but Harry.

"SHE'S WHERE?!" Ron yelled. Oh yes, he heard Harry perfectly well. That didn't mean he could believe it or more, wanted to believe it.

"You heard me," Harry said. "She's on a mission."

"WE ALREADY KNEW THAT FOR A WEEK!" Ron continued screaming. "WHY ARE YOU TELLING US ONLY NOW WHERE SHE WENT!" It was not a question. All those around the table knew the answer. It was Hermione after all. They wouldn't be surprised if she urged Harry to make an Unbreakable Vow.

Still Harry answered the question. "She made me promise to not to," he said quietly.

"STILL!" Ron yelled again.

Yes, Ron would have told the Order immediately about Hermione's disappearance. That was exactly why she had told Harry and not Ron.

"I… WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW!" Ron exclaimed.

"Ron! Shut up," Ginny shouted to her outraged brother.

"No!" she said, when Ron opened his mouth again. "Listen! I may not understand her motives or know why she did what she did, but it's Hermione. We need to trust her. She knows what she's doing." She turned to Harry. "So what is this mission about Greyback you were talking about?"

"Hermione thinks," Harry began, "that Greyback is planning something. Something that can have a big influence on the war. The werewolves are quite neutral at this point, but if Greyback succeeds to take over the pack, they have to follow him. With the werewolves their forces will be stronger than ours. They're already outnumbering us. Add the werewolves and it doesn't just become an unfair war, it becomes a slaughter." He waited a moment to let it sink in. "Hermione is going undercover to find out how Greyback is planning to take over and to learn more about werewolves. With this information we could win the war."

Ron was still fuming, but he didn't say a word.

It was Professor McGonagall was spoke first. "When was she supposed to be back?" she informed.

"This day at last," Harry answered. Ron was rapidly turning red. "But, that doesn't mean she's… that she's…" He couldn't finish that sentence. "Probably some things didn't go according to plan. She lives. I am sure. I- I refuse to think about any other outcome."

Ginny walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"There's no other outcome," she stated confidently. "It's Hermione we are talking about. She would find a way to stop a thunderstorm."

"Yes," chuckled George. He continued in a more serious voice. "We just have to continue doing what we are doing and make sure that all Hermione's efforts are not for nothing."

Almost everyone nodded.

"How could you say that!" his brother accused. Ron's freckles could barely been seen, because of his red face. "We can't just leave her behind!"

"Ron," Professor McGonagall said firmly. "We have to trust Hermione's judgment. She'll make it out alive."

"This is exactly why she didn't tell you." Harry was losing his patience.

Ron opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't think of a good response and closed it again.

"So, closing this subject and moving on, where are we going to attack next?" Harry asked.

 _Hermione_

It had been two weeks since her departure from Grimmauld Place 12. Harry promised her that he would tell the others about her mission a week after she had left. Another week had gone by and Hermione knew that Harry kept his second promise, that he wouldn't go after her. Apparently, he convinced the others as well. Or something had happened…

No. She couldn't think like that. She needed to stay focused on her task.

It was quite hard to do so already, with Malfoy around. With him around she couldn't seem to focus on anything other than his smell. And her tent was much too close to his, for her liking.

What was wrong with her?

And here she was, again getting distracted by that pompous git.

She shook her head, to clear her thoughts and tried once more to focus on the task, when someone entered the tent.

 _Malfoy?_ she wondered.

A familiar blond head appeared.

"Hey," Matteo said. "How are you?"

"You!" she accused, while pointing her wand in his direction. He held his hands up in defense.

"Relax. I don't want to hurt y-"

"You don't want to hurt me? Really? Because I remember a night, not so long ago, which you _did_ hurt me!" she yelled, not moving her wand an inch.

"Calm down. You know I didn't have control back then," he tried to reason.

"How strange, 'cause you told me YOU DID!" She took a large and not calming at all, breath. "I believe you said something like that it became easier to control your werewolf side over the years. YOU told me I was SAFE with YOU!"

"I… I-" he stammered

"I trusted YOU!" she screamed, moving a step forwards and prodding the wand in his neck. With her move, he found his voice back.

"Well, first of all, that is _your_ mistake, isn't it? Trusting a werewolf isn't quite smart. And secondly, I don't regret it."

"What do you mean you don't regret it?" she asked dangerous low.

He made a move for her wand and before she could react, he was twisting it between his fingers. He took a step to her, but held the wand out of her reach. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"The blood moon is close." His breath hovered over her skin and caused her to shiver. He interpreted it wrong and smirked at her.

He leaned in again.

"Do you know what it means?" he whispered.

She shook her head, taken aback with the change of roles.

"That you'll be mine soon," he murmured before tossing her her wand and walking away.

 _AN: So, some explaining. The reason I inserted the part about the order is because I feel like they won't just accept the fact that Hermione is gone without any clue. And I think Hermione plays a big role in the Order. Without her I think the Order would be quite lost._

 _About the blood moon: it's something that really exists (as you probably know, but for those who don't). It looks awesome. For the role it will take in the story, it'll be explained some time later._

 _Oh, and will you let me know if you want to hear more about the Order in Hermione absence?_

 _One last thing, SPECULATION! Please if you want, let me know what you think of this chapter and what you think will happen next. It would be fun to read. :)_

 _Thank you all for reading._


	13. Chapter 13: A wonderful life

_Draco_

Draco had always thought that his life couldn't get worse, even when he was younger.

Yes, being Draco Malfoy wasn't as great as it seemed. Sure, being rich had its benefits, as you could imagine.

But a coin has two sides.

Draco didn't know when his father had changed, he knew it was before he was born and guessed it had something to do with the First Wizarding War. The only reason he knew that his father was different before, was because of his mother. His mother had loved him. Correction; still loves him. Why? Draco could only guess.

His mother showed her love for both Malfoy men. She might not have showed it in a way most mothers do, but Draco understood. It was in those little acts. Making his breakfast (not many people did believe this- including Lucius- but Narcissa Malfoy did actually cook. More surprisingly, she loved cooking), making sure he got everything he wanted and most important were the little things she did when she knew his father wasn't looking. When Lucius was called away for some business abroad, she would take him to Covent Garden. The only place in Muggle London he ever visited (except the station, of course).

Draco wouldn't admit it, but he had a passion for plants. He was drained to them, because they seemed unaffected by humans. Plants, wouldn't back away or flight, like animals would. They wouldn't bloom any less in his present, although Draco thought of himself as poisonous. As long as you gave them water and enough light, they would grow.

He was fascinated by them. They were so fragile, so easily destroyed, but they grew so easily. Sure, if you would destroy them 'til there was nothing left (why would you?), they wouldn't grow back, but new flowers would grow in their place. They gave the world colour.

That's why Draco and Narcissa Malfoy could endure the fact that Covent Gardens was owned by Muggles.

The second time Draco had thought his life couldn't get worse, was at Hogwarts. Yes, Harry Potter. He seemed to take it up to him to make Draco's life a nightmare. Together with the insufferable know-it-all. While Potter took all the fame which belonged to Draco, Granger took the task to humiliate him by beating him in all their classes. Literally all their classes. Even potions. How did she dare?!

With those two, and of course the Weasel, who was just really annoying, they made his Hogwarts life a hell (he might have exaggerated a little, but this is Draco Malfoy we're talking about). And his Hogwarts years should have been his escape from his father, or at least a chance to make him proud.

Well, the third time Draco discovered he was wrong, he did make his father proud.

Some would say there was a choice, because there's always a choice, as true as this may seem, most people opt for the choice which makes them stay alive. As did Draco.

He knew it was a trap, how could he not know (he was second in class, after all). But with his father in jail and his mother trapped in her own house with a, sadly, not dying maniac, it wasn't so difficult to choose.

If he was asked now, if he regretted the choice he made, he would say no. If he had the chance to do it over, he would do the same. No matter the consequences.

The fourth time could be seen as freeing. The death of his father came as a shock to him. After all Lucius had done, Draco had still loved him. He was the only person for who Draco would do anything to make him proud. Well, he would've in his youth. Growing up, he learned more about the world without his father's perspective. He didn't understand his father. Although he had lived for seventeen years with him, he still didn't know the man. So, it did shock him when he saw the limb body of the man he called father.

It had been his father's fault that they landed in this mess and he had imagined about how it would have been without him, but he had never thought that that day would actually come. And if it would, he would've thought that he would have been relieved. He was, but at the same time he felt lost. His father had always been a part of his life, a bad part, don't get him wrong, but a part nevertheless. And now that part was gone. And it was strange. He kind of missed that part.

The fifth time, he shouldn't even been surprised. It was not the mission of Dumbledore for which he had been punished, but it was a list of mission he only did not do correct.

Every time he had the chance to not kill, he didn't. Logically, one might say, when there wasn't a madman who could read minds, looking over your shoulder.

Draco knew he would get punished. Maybe he even longed to be punished. He relished the pain. It was something which made him feel alive. It was something he knew he deserved. He deserved to be alive in this living hell, which made death seem liberating.

To be saying he liked to be a werewolf, would have been a lie. But somehow he didn't hate it. There was something nice at being part of a large family.

Like they had said, it felt like there was a life before being a werewolf and after. The war went to the background together with his old life and he was all too happy to forget about it.

That was of course, until the sixth reason showed up.

Hermione Granger managed to get in his list for the second time.

She was still a know-it-all, still bossy, still with bushy hair and still totally insufferable.

If she saw making Draco's life miserable as a class, he was most certain she would get a O for it. Without the effort she was still doing well.

Adding her being his mate, it was big enough to make a point seven.

 _How wonderful._

Yes, fate had a personal vendetta against Draco Malfoy.

Which takes us back to the present.

FF

All those reason together brought him in Sage's tent.

"Can't I change mates or so?" Draco asked.

Sage guffawed and wiped away the tears before answering.

"No," was all he could say, before he started laughing again.

Draco stared irritated at the old man and waited until he was finished.

Once again, Sage wiped the tears out of his eyes and turned to Draco.

"Oh, pup, believe me you wouldn't wish another mate."

Draco huffed.

"Just give it some time, pup," the elder wolf advised.

"Time? You haven't met Hermione Granger. She is as stubborn as a mule. And besides, and don't think she's… affected like I am," Draco responded.

"Oh, but she is," Sage stated.

"How could you possibly know?" He didn't like talking about this all and grew more and more frustrated.

"Well, the look on your face was enough to confirm it all. Add her confused look and your actions and even you cannot deny it."

"It doesn't matter anyway. It's not like she's going to accept the bond," Draco mumbled. _It's not like she's going to accept me._

"Well, you better make sure she's. Normally you would have all the time to court her, but with the blood moon in two moons, you're running out of time. A life without a mate, if you know your mate isn't qu-"

"Blood moon?" interrupted Draco.

"Yeah. Haven't I told you?"

"No, you didn't," he answered, gritting his teeth.

Sage didn't look bothered. "Well, the blood moon is something which complicates things. You know about the mating?" He waved his hand at Draco's confused expression. "Anyway. The mating ritual is quite simple. If the mate is already a werewolf you only have to bite her again. If she was not a werewolf, and you don't want her to become one, you just have to make sure you don't bite her around full moon. For you is that not a problem anymore, seeing the events of last moon. So, biting your mate, on their will, reinforces the mating bond. It has to be on their will, but I've never heard of mated wolves who didn't accept their mate."

Draco had a feeling he was going to be the first.

"Wolves who don't find their mate can be with someone else. Wolves who have found their mate, can be as well, but like I said earlier, they don't want to. Anyway, wolves can only create a mating bond with their mate, except for the blood moon. When the blood moon rises, a lone male wolf can choose any lone female wolf of their will, and the other way around. This is the strange occasion where they don't both have to accept the bond. Although it doesn't often happens that one disagrees. 'Cause, who wants to spend the rest of their lives with someone who didn't accept them in the first place? This bond, called the red bond, is different from the mating bond. The mating bond is much stronger, but on other parts it's quite the same. Not all wolves take this option. It's a risk, because if they were to meet their true mate, they can't form a bond with them anymore. A werewolf can only bond once and that's for life. Mated wolve- Are you okay, pup?" Sage asked when he saw Draco's sickly pale face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. No pressure at all," he muttered.

Draco wouldn't say his life couldn't get worse. He knew fate would take it as a personal challenge and prove him wrong. Once again.

FF

 _AN: I think this chapter answers some of your questions regarding the blood moon. I think it's fun to complicate things (muahaha)._

 _Oh and things won't work the way I want them to. I add those little stars to announce a change, but when I update the chapter they disappear... The same with the italic text sometimes. Really frustrating._

 _And why did I decide to name all those chapters... :/_

 _Anyway, if there are any questions, I'm happy to answer them, well if they won't give away too much._

 _Oh yeah the answer to the last question about whether Matteo knew if she was Draco's mate when he bit her: No, he didn't. Not that he would care if he did. After Draco came to rescue, he of course put one and one together and well..._

 _I think the only one who doesn't know that Hermione is Draco's mate, is Hermione herself._

 _If you would give feedback, it would help me very much! I'm still trying to improve and stuff._

 _Thank you all! :D_


	14. Chapter 14: The Price of War

_AN: YES I'M SORRY! I'm late, I know, but I've a good reason. School is taking quite a lot of my time, sadly. Well, enjoy the chapter and there's another author's note at the end of it.  
_

 _TT_

 _Hermione_

Hermione's life had gotten a strange twist when she got her Hogwarts letter. And her life kept turning around.

Harry Potter was many of the reasons it did.

Already in first year when she was attacked by a troll and became friends with those boys who were calling for death.

In the same year, they outsmarted the Professors and stopped Voldemort. Pretty impressive for three eleven year olds. Quite sad for a guy who thinks of himself as unbeatable.

Second year started calm, but then again, all the years did. Starting with children getting petrified and a bloody message written on the wall and it went downhills from then on. Ginny was controlled by a horcrux (although they didn't discover until much later that it was one) and a giant snake was hidden in the bathroom.

A school year at Hogwarts can't be boring.

It was surprising that she didn't get the clue from fate. Ignorant she went to her third year. To get, once again with the help of Harry, involved in some mystery. This time the mystery that was called Sirius Black.

Well, so it went on and on, they won and won, until the battle of Hogwarts.

Something did go wrong. Very wrong

Voldemort, the bloody coward, fleed (he, himself, preferred calling it a well thought out strategy. Harry preferred to call it- no, when it is mentioned, he just mumbles curses under his breath). With Voldemort fleeing (yes, fleeing) the scene, there was no ending to the battle.

Eventually they had to give up Hogwarts. The losses were too great.

After seeing Tonks, Lupin and Fred in the Big Hall of Hogwarts, it became too much for Harry.

He dropped to his knees and started crying. It was silent, at first.

Hermione, always trying to be the strong one, put a hand on his shoulder. That's when he started screaming. He yelled and howled. Hermione quickly pulled her hand back.

After some time, she tried again.

"Harry," she said softly. He turned towards her, tear streamed face, but finally silent. The look he had in his eyes, still haunts her till this very day.

"No more, Hermione," he begged her. "No, no, no. Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!" He tugged on his hair and Hermione stepped forwards. She took his hands in hers and forced him to look at her.

"Promise me," he said, with a crazed look in his emerald eyes.

"I- I promise." And she kept her promise.

She helped Harry get up, thankfully people were too busy in their own grieve to notice Harry's breakdown. After he had calmed down enough to compose himself a little, she left and gather everyone together.

It pained her to persuade them to give up Hogwarts, although she knew it was for the best.

"It can't go on like this anymore!" she told them. "We are losing this battle! They outnumber us greatly. By keeping up with this fight, we aren't going to change the outcome. We'll just lose more people. We've lost enough people we care about. Maybe we've lost this battle, but we will not lose this war!" She put her hand in the air and there was little hesitation before the rest of the great hall followed.

The retreat after, went smoothly. She almost thought she hadn't made the right decision and that the Death Eaters had been retreating before them. Almost.

Looking back on it, she knew she had made the right decision.

She apparated back to check if everyone had left. Luckily they had.

Bright yellow and orange flames licked the building she loved with all her heart. The fire was everywhere. She could barely recognize the castle.

When Harry was sure everyone was safe, he calmed down a little. Hermione announced that she was going to check for the last time and he had insisted that he would join her. She, in her place, forbid him to go. Ron had to hold him back physically to keep him in the safehouse.

She was glad he did. All the sane Harry had shortly regained, would be vanished when he saw the only home he had, being destroyed.

She kept it secret from him. At her return, she told them that the Death Eaters had placed a complicated dark spell, from which she had no idea what it did, but it would affect everyone who came as close as 5 kilometers from the schoolground. Luckily, she apparated outside that border as prediction (well, that was what she told them). Nobody could return to the building, until after Voldemort was defeated.

She would worry later about dealing with Harry's breakdown. Counting on it that they made it both out alive.

She knew he would make it out alive. Not only he was The Boy Who Lived, but she would just refuse to believe anything else. With Harry dead, the war would be lost. The world would be lost.

About herself making it out alive… Well, she didn't think she would. She had seen people die all around her. She had lost so many loved ones. She didn't even know if her parents were alive. She hoped that they would be happy and well in Australia, but it hurt that she couldn't check it. It hurt that they didn't know who she was and that if she died, they would never know. All those memories they had shared would be gone.

She might not think that she would survive this war, but it didn't mean she wasn't afraid of death. We all are going to die someday, and aren't we all a little afraid of the unknown?

She was terrified, but she would do everything to end this stupid war, even if it costed her life.

The Order had been planning different attacks. Guerrilla attacks. Quick attacks in the hoping to out balance the Death Eaters. If it had worked, she still didn't know.

They gather all their lost ones, before they had the chance to count them. They kept to themselves and she was sure they were planning something. Which is the reason she ended in this wolves hole.

If Greyback was up to something, it would be under Voldemort's obligation.

And she was sure as hell going to find out what it was.

To be honest, it was a relief to leave the Order for some time. The pressure of the responsibility was getting even for her, too much. Every time Harry wanted to know what someone else thought of it, he would come to her (which was actually every decision he had to made). So indirect she made all the decisions. While it looked like for the rest of the wizarding world that Harry was the leader and the strong one, it was really Hermione. She was the one who couldn't cry openly, because someone needed her shoulder to cry on. She was the one who they came to when they were in doubt. Never could she have a moment of hesitation. She was Hermione Granger after all, she did know everything, didn't she?

She made sure that they were all standing and it was getting heavy.

Add Ron to that and she almost didn't hate the way her plan went.

He was frustrating her to no end. Always asking if she was okay, what she was doing, if she needed help, if she had eaten already (okay, so she did forget to eat a few times, maybe more than a few times, that didn't mean it wasn't irritating), whether she shouldn't take a break, et cetera… Don't get her wrong, she loves Ron, just not in the way he loves her.

She had kissed him in the middle of the battle and at that moment she had really believed that she loved him. He was so sweet and nice. But maybe it was the war, which was taking its toll, or it was just her own fault, but she discovered at the end of the battle that there was a hollow place where her heart used to be. She did love him, but there was no spark, no fire, no passion. Nothing. Something in her heart had died together with so many loved ones. Maybe if you lose a lot of people close by you'll also lose the ability to love.

She didn't have the heart to tell him. She tried to patient with him, but he was really getting on her nerves. So, yes, it was a relief to leave the safe house. She still believed that, although she ended in the same place as Malfoy.

Well, she could just get on with her mission and ignore him. She didn't have to see him. After this she didn't have to see him at all.

Funny, seeing as Draco had other plans.

TT

 _AN: Yes, the last two chapters are without any interaction between the two, but I promise you they WILL interact. I just had the feeling I needed to add this, I think it puts more dept into the story. Showing their characters and stuff._

 _Oh, and I'm sorry if there are any mistakes in it, English is not my mother language._

 _Let me know what you think (review :))!_


	15. Chapter 15: Elucidate

_Hermione_

 _Full Moon_

"Hermione!" a girl called.

Hermione turned around, still with the laundry basket on her hip.

"What is the matter, Angie?" she asked in return.

She had met Angie when she was walking around with Sage one day. Sage had learned her that everyone had a task in the pack. There were the hunters, the cleaners, the caretakers, the sewers, etc. After your first full moon they would decide where you belong.

Because the full moon was still two weeks away, back then, Angie suggested to place her for now by the cleaners. Hermione was alright with that, she didn't really liked it, but it kept her busy and she could let her mind wonder. Also, she did find a good friend in Angie. The girl smart, but talked way too much. Sometimes, as rude as it was, Hermione just blocked her out. Angie wouldn't even notice.

"It's full moon tonight," Angie stated with a bright smile.

"Yeah, I know," Hermione began slowly. "And?"

"Well, it's your first full moon, aren't you excited? I certainly was. Well, more nervous, actually. It's quite scary that whole becoming a werewolf thing and there is the pain of course, that isn't so nice as well, but you just have to carry through it and then it will be alright, not entirely alright, how can you be, but better. Afterwards you'll feel bruised and sick and-"

Angie was rattling once again. Sometimes even Professor Binns would sound more interesting.

"-his platinum hair and have you seen his body! He hasn't even been a werewolf for more than a few moons." Angie was still talking.

"What? Who?" Hermione asked. She had a vague idea who the white haired boy she was talking about could be.

"The new pup, of course. Oh, honey, don't tell me you haven't seen him. It's impossible to not notice him."

"Malfoy?"

"Yes, that's him. What was his first name again?"

"Draco," Hermione answered out of habit.

"Ah, yes, what a lovely name. I really can't wait for the blood moon. Can you imagine? Having him for yourself?"

 _No, no thank you, I can't and I wouldn't like to._

But then the realization hit her. "Blood moon?"

She had tried to ask Sage about it, but he had paled and avoided her question. "Something you don't have to worry about, lupa." He refused to meet her eyes and changed the subject.

Eager as Hermione was when it came to information, she didn't give up easily. She asked him multiple times, but every time he would refuse to answer.

"Haven't you heard of the blood moon?" Angie didn't wait for an answer. "Well, it has to do with mates. Have you heard about them? It is something like soulmates, actually the only difference is that it has some werewolf aspects. You can smell your mate. Once you smell them, you'll know who it is. There's of course a mating ritual, in which the two mates accept each other and are bonded for life. Well, they were already bonded, but the mating ritual strengthens their bond and gives them extra abilities. All your senses will grow stronger, even though they are already strong because of the werewolf blood inside your veins. And, you can feel your mates feelings. You can sense when they are in danger, which is quite handy.

All werewolves have a mate, humans have one as well, but they cannot notice it as easily as werewolves. Not everyone meets their mate, it's quite rare. But once you do, there is no denying it. They say it feels like your life has begun when you get to know them. Personally, I wouldn't know. Sage once had a mate, you know? Not a lot people know what had happened to her. He doesn't speak of her. Although Alpha said that Sage would have been Alpha if he didn't lose his mate. Losing a mate can be devastating. Sage is now still a powerful wolf, but he was almost unbeatable in the past, at least, so they say.

What was your question again? Ah, yes, the blood moon. Not all wolves like the blood moon. Sage doesn't. They are convinced that you should only form a bond with your true mate. But, like I said, not every wolf finds their mate. Some wolves don't want to wait or have waited too long. You can fall in love with someone else than your mate, but being with your mate is different. It's extraordinary. The blood moon is a solution for lone wolves. They can form a mating bond with someone who isn't their mate. The bond isn't as strong as the true mating bond, but it still heightens the senses. There's one problem, once you have formed the bond, it cannot be undone. You can only form one bond. That's why most wolves choose to not form the blood moon bond, because if they find their mate later in life, they cannot form the mating bond anymore, but they still can smell them and want them, but the blood bond prevents them from being with their true mate. Only desperate wolves or wolves who are in love, although that's probably the same, will choose for this option. But can you imagine, being mated with the blond boy. The blood moon can make that possible, so they are good things about it.

The reason why Sage doesn't like the blood moon is simple, he once had a mate, and all mated pairs only really love their mate. They can't imagine what's like without them, well Sage can. And there's another aspect about the blood moon bond, which differs from the original mating bond. The blood moon bond can be forced. I mean, it can be one sided love and that person decides to be forever with the other person and takes action with the blood moon. If the other person isn't prepared it can happen that there's a bond formed without his or her input. A bond doesn't mean love, it just bonds two people. So you can be stuck with someone you don't like for your whole life. Putting it that way, I can imagine why Sage is so against it." Angie stopped cleaning and looked at Hermione. The latter had paled several shades lighter. She sniffed once, catching a familiar aroma, at which her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

"Hermione? Hermione? Are you okay?"

TT

 _Draco_

It was two weeks since she had woken up.

He couldn't remember much about the two weeks in which she was asleep. What he could remember was the panic. There wasn't much else. Just panic, oh and people who kept bothering him about his health, as if that was important. She was almost dead, for Merlin's sake, what did it matter if he hadn't eaten for a day… or two… four… He didn't keep track of the days, the only reason he knew it were two weeks, was because of the same irritating people which kept reminding him.

He crunched when he thought back to their last conversation. On one hand, he hated himself for going soft. On the other hand, he despised himself for being so ruthless. He didn't know how to act around her. She was getting under his skin in so many ways. He couldn't get her out of his thoughts and his body aced. And then that madding smell... How could she stay away? He was slowly losing his mind.

Ha, how ironic. He managed not to lose his mind when he was a faithful follower of a crazed madman, but he was close to losing his mind over a girl who used to hate him. Correction, who still hated him.

He needed to be with her. Not to touch, but to be in her presence, to talk to her, to get to know her. He wanted all of her. Every provoking part of her. This feeling was confusing him, she was confusing him.

He needed to see her now.

TT

 _AN: So, here's another chapter! Yes, I know some of you are excited for the blood moon, but there are some things which have to happen first._

 _Firstly, I don't want Hermione's first full moon be the blood moon, seeing as becoming a werewolf for the first time doesn't leave much room inside your head for something else, I imagine. It takes some getting used to being one._

 _Secondly, there is some interacting between Hermione and Draco in the weeks between the blood moon and now, which is starting in the next chapter. Them becoming closer, and things starting to clear up for Hermione, not entirely of course._

 _Well, I don't know yet, seeing as I have no chapter pre-written, so I'm just imagining things, which might change or might not change._

 _I'm open for any suggestions and if there's anything I could improve...?_

 _Well, let me know! :)_

 _Thank you all for reading!_


	16. Chapter 16: Perspectives

Draco

Her scent. How did he not notice it when they were in school?

(Ah, yeah, right, the werewolf part. Let's just skip that for a second and be a little romantic.)

It was easy enough to follow it all the way to the river. There she was, standing together with the other cleaning wolves doing laundry.

She sniffed in the air, once, twice and all of sudden she fell.

A flood of panic rushed through him and without thinking he stormed to her. He pushed the girl standing next to her to the side and hovered over her.

"Granger?" he asked, surprised how worried he sounded.

"Merlin's pants! You- you're- you're him!"

"Granger!" he said again, this time more urgent. He dropped to his knees, uncaring for the wet grass, and started to shake her carefully.

Her eyes started fluttering and she regained her consciousness. She sniffed and looked utterly confused. Then her eyes caught Malfoy's and she came to her senses again.

"Malfoy! Can you please let me go," she ordered. He quickly dropped his arms and tried to hide his relief. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't know you hit your head that hard," Draco retorted. "I live here."

"I meant here, at the river, you know?" She punctuated every word as one would do with a small child.

"Again, I live here. I can stand and go where I want."

She sighed. "Never mind. You're impossible."

She tried to get up, but apparently she did hit her head. She grabbed her head and landed on the ground again.

"And here was I, thinking they called you the Brightest Witch of Her Age," Draco sneered.

"Sod off," Hermione whispered back, not speaking too loudly to prevent her head from banging too much.

"I don't think so," he replied.

"Yes, I do think so."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No-"

"Are you guys involved or something?" the girl, which Draco had forgotten about, asked.

"NO!" they both replied immediately.

The girl ignored their answer and focused on Hermione.

"Hermione!" she said offended. "You have never told me you were involved with the handsome blond haired!"

"That's because I'm not!"

The wolf inside Draco growled. On the outside, Draco huffed.

"Just stop!" the girl yelled, moving to stand between them. "I get it, you guys have history, and not a good one from what I gather. But to focus on reality, you're pack now, and whether you want it or you don't you will have to deal with each other. Pack for pack."

Draco and Hermione snorted simultaneously.

"You know what? I've gotten an idea. You guys will finish the washing together and try to be civil together, while I'll go talking to Sage."

"You can't force us," Draco retorted.

"You bet your ass off I can. Don't make me prove it." She sighed when she saw both of them standing with their arms crossed and a childish stubborn frown on their faces.

"Is it so hard to just get along?"

"You try to get along with a ferret," Hermione responded.

"Or a bloody know-it-all," Draco added.

"Oh by Remus and Romulus, I'll tie the two of you together if you don't finish this cleaning!" With this, she turned around and walked irritated towards the camp.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, but saw that it was useless and decided to just ignore him.

Too bad that Draco had another plan.

He was still intoxicated by her smell, which he smelled every time he inhaled. Well, if he was going to be stuck with her, he better make the best out of it.

"Can you hand me the soap?" he asked.

"Malfoy, are you ill?" she asked mock-serious.

"Haha, very funny," he replied, rolling his eyes. She placed the wet soap in his waiting hand. accidentally their hands touched and Draco had to stop himself from reacting to her soft skin.

Merlin. This was going to be difficult.

Because he paid too much attention to her skin against his, the soap slipped out of his hand. Even his wolf senses weren't quick enough to catch it. He did manage to touch the soap once more, making it slip even further from him. It slipped another time out of his hand and he took a step to the water trying to catch it. Hermione followed him and tried to catch it as well, out of impulse. Both trying to catch the slippery object, they bumped into each other. Draco tried to regain his balance and grabbed Hermione's arm.

This was his first mistake.

Hermione tried to regain her own balance as well, and lost it when she felt Draco's hand around her arm.

Still holding Hermione's arm, Draco was pulled into the water with her.

The water wasn't very deep, but deep enough to drench them both.

Spluttering Hermione appeared as first, Draco followed shortly after her.

He expected screaming and yelling, but instead she started laughing. It started with some snorts, which turned rapidly into guffawing.

Seeing Hermione with soaked hair, which still managed remain its bushy structure, and a big laugh on her face, Draco couldn't help but laugh as well.

When they were both out of breath the laughs became small hiccups. Draco glanced at Hermione and noticed that she looked quite beautiful. Blaming it on wolf instincts, he observed that she was pretty when she laughed, with her nose slightly crinkled, he almost dared to say that she was cute. Her cheeks were all rosy and her lips curled up, slightly too high for the standard beauty. Her face was free of all sorrows and worries. War had changed them all, and seeing her letting go of the mask he didn't realize she had been wearing, made him understand that more.

She caught him looking at her and started to laugh once more.

"What?" he asked with a smile.

"Your… your… hair," she finally said in between the laughs.

"What?!" he said more panicked, feeling at his head. She laughed even harder. It took her some time to become calm once again.

"It's," she began, still snorting. "It's always so neatly and now…"

"Now," he said mock-cockily, flipping his hair. "It's still stylish."

She giggled softly.

"Why aren't you always like this?" she asked seriously.

Taken back at the sudden switch of mood and subject, he remained silent for a few seconds.

"I was always like this. Deep on the inside. Nobody cared enough to look past the cocky boy you have always known, to see what he hid behind the many masks." He was surprised with his own honest answer.

"I guess so. But you didn't give us many changes, you know?"

"Do you think I had a choice? Do you think I wasn't scared? Do you think I am not scared?" She kept silent.

"I know it's hard for you to see it in another perspective. If you start to see the enemy as humans who have doubts and fears, they become real. They aren't monsters anymore. Monster you could kill, because they are nothing but evil. But humans? Humans just like you? How would it be to kill someone who has a family waiting for them at home? Someone who had made a foolish mistake and got dragged into something which was bigger than himself? Someone who dreamed to help magical beasts after the war? Could you kill them knowing that they love, cry, hide, laugh and feel just like you? It's easier to see them as monsters who can't feel a thing and have as only goal to eliminate you. But that isn't the world. The world isn't divided into black and white. It's a spectrum of gray."

She mumbled something in response.

"I know," repeated louder. She looked up to him, stubborn tears glazing her eyes. "I just want this war to end. I can't take it anymore." She laughed mirthless. "What am I doing? Talking to the enemy?"

He wanted to assure her that he wasn't her enemy, but he was. Even though he didn't want to be, he was.

"Not everything is so perfect on the good side, you know?" she said after a while. She shook her head. "I can't tell you more, I'm sorry. It's a too big risk."

He nodded. There were things he couldn't tell her as well.

They just sat there in the water, staring to the horizon. It was the only comfort they could give each other and for now they were content with it.

TT

 _AN: I'M SORRY GUYS! I let you wait for some time..._

 _These are the last few weeks of school and it's quite busy, plus I was uninspired. BUT here is the chapter you've been waiting for._

 _THANK YOU for reading and LET me know what you think of it!_

 _Thank you all! I'm really happy you are reading this story. :D_

 _Next chapter probably some more bonding and I think finally Hermione's first full moon. (Don't worry I haven't forgotten about the blood moon, it will come.)_


	17. Chapter 17: New plans and moonlight

_AN: Wow, long time no update, sorry guys. I was really busy with school, but here is the chapter :). I hope it was worth it._

 _Let me know what you think of it by reviewing. Feedback would be great._

 _Anyway, enjoy this chapter._

TT

 _Hermione_

Full moon.

She didn't know how to feel. A whirlwind of emotions and thoughts stormed through her.

She was curious about how it would feel. After reading so much about werewolves, she could make a proper guess about the pain. But it would be different from the real experience and as an eager learner, Hermione knew how to respect experience. Don't get her wrong, despite her curiosity, she still was terrified.

"Terrified?" asked Angie, and not for the first time Hermione wondered if mind reading was one of the werewolf traits which she hadn't discovered yet.

Angie laughed before Hermione could answer. "Don't worry. I cannot read your mind, but your face is an open book so that's basically the same thing."

Hermione crinkled her nose in frustration.

"Don't worry 'Mione. Not everyone is such a good face-reader as I am."

Angie was one of those people who you got to know in a very short time.

In Hogwarts, Hermione didn't have a lot of friends. The only people she was really close with, were Harry and Ron. She was the kind of girl who spend her free time reading instead of meeting with friends. She was okay with that.

Angie was the complete opposite. She got energy from being around people, at least that is what Hermione guessed, seeing that every time she talked it seemed like she got more energy which ended in her not stopping with talking till someone interrupted her.

Hermione had met her two weeks ago, when she had woken up. Angie had decided that she liked Hermione and so they became friends. While she may be sometimes a little irritating, Hermione found that she liked being friends with her.

"Let's go," Angie said.

"Do we have to?" Hermione sighed.

"Well, if you want to be in pain all alone and destroy your tent, sure go ahead."

Hermione sighed again, but ducked to get out of the tent. Angie grabbed her wrist.

"Wait! You're not planning to go like this are you?" she said.

"What do you mean?" Hermione questioned suspicious.

"You'll rip your clothes apart in wolf form." Angie waited a few seconds till the realization hit Hermione. Her eyes widened.

"You're joking," she stated.

"Nope. Besides, everyone is going to be naked, so it isn't weird."

Hermione disagreed.

TT

"I still think this is crazy," Hermione whispered, while she tried her best to make herself as small as possible. She felt… well, she felt naked.

There was that scent again. Mint, fresh mowed grass and…

Malfoy.

She thought back to the weird conversation of last afternoon.

He first seemed like the Malfoy she had known in school, the one who frustrated her to no end.

Then, they had lost their balance and it was like the old-Malfoy was washed away and what was left was someone different. He looked even different with his normally neat hair standing in all the directions. She couldn't help but laugh.

After that he had even made a joke. This corrupted with every memory she had of him.

And the conversation they had…

 _Could you kill them knowing that they love, cry, hide, laugh and feel just like you?_

She wasn't sure she could.

Monster you could kill. You could kill them, because you believed that there would be no one to mourn their death. People would celebrate.

But the people against who they fought, they had lives, they had loved ones, they had goals, they had dreams. Yes, their goals were fucked-up, but they were only human.

And in that moment, she believed she saw a part of the real Draco. The one who hid behind a thousand masks.

He wasn't a monster.

He was just a casualty of the war. Caught up in something much bigger than him, like they all were.

She had seen the pain and regret in his eyes, even though he hadn't looked at her.

"Hermione? Are you okay?" interrupted Angie's voice.

"Yeah, yeah," she answered, still distracted by the great puzzle that was called Draco Malfoy.

"Hey, it's going to be fine. It's going to hurt." She laughed softly. "Quite a lot. But it hurts less with the pack. You'll feel it soon, the bond between the packmembers is stronger after the first full moon." She looked to the moon which was almost at its highest.

"It's going to start."

Hermione could take one deep breath before it started.

A thousand hands were breaking her bones, while her skin was burning at the same time. She heard a voice, which she vaguely recognized as her own. The thought that she was going to rip her own eardrums apart went through her mind, before it was taken away by pain. New bones grew and pain, so much pain.

Finally it ended. She shook her fur and looked around.

The brown wolf next to her was Angie. She recognized her scent.

Angie pushed her muzzle to Hermione's side as greeting. Hermione licked her muzzle in return.

Hermione noticed that she had a lot of control. She felt the bond where Angie had been talking about and apparently it was something which could control the blood lust. Or the blood lust would only appear if there was a prey nearby.

The rest of the night she and Angie kept to themselves. Angie felt that Hermione needed adjust to the pack life. They had run into some other wolves, but she didn't recognize them.

Dawn came faster than expected and soon her whole body was on fire again. Her claws returned to hands and her muzzle changed into a button nose again.

Hermione was out of breath and she could see the concerned look on Angie's face for a few seconds before she passed out.

TT

 _Greyback_

The day after the full moon everyone had to renew their energy again. Most slept through the day in order to do so. Greyback had better things to do.

It was around seven in the morning that he called his most trusted to gather together.

"Do we have to do this now?" Blaid, a big muscular man with dark hair, asked, rubbing his eyes. Others grumbled in agreement.

Greyback ignored the question.

"The war is undecided. All depends on the loyalty of the wolves. Casius is weak." Some hissed by the mention of Alpha's name. Most wolves didn't dare to call his name. It was something different from the fear of the name of Voldemort. While Alpha was strong and strict, he wasn't generally feared. To call Alpha something else than Alpha was just disrespectful. These wolves might be plotting against Alpha's will, it didn't mean that they didn't respect the leader of their pack, or the fact that old habits die hard, can be blamed.

"He wants to stay neutral," Greyback continued, not bothered by the response on his casual mention of Alpha's name. "He says this isn't our war to fight. Well, it is!" He hit the table and some of the men who were dozing jumped at the sudden sound. "The wizards have been controlling our lives long enough! We're outcasted and thrown to the side!"

One of the not-so smart ones interrupted Greyback. "How is following another wizard going to change that?"

Greybacks eyes flickered to gold for a second. When he spoke, his voice was low and rumbling.

"What have I told you about interrupting the ones above you?" he asked very slow.

The plump man looked around him for help, but the others knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of Greybacks anger.

"Not to?" the man said carefully.

"And why is it that you did exactly what I asked you not to do?" The fake-friendly tone made the poor man sweat more.

Greyback didn't give him a chance to say anything else. "Outside. I'll deal with you later," he stated curtly.

Hastily the man waggled outside.

"The Dark Lord can help us to rise in society and when the time is there… the only thing we have to do is to destroy him and we'll finally stand above wizards!"

The incident was long forgotten and the tent erupted in loud cheers. After they calmed down a little, Blaid stepped forwards.

"How are you planning to do this, Greyback?" he asked. Some nodded along, also curious about his plans.

Greyback grinned. "That's wherefore we have the younglings."


	18. Chapter 18: Confusion

_AN: Hi, again._

 _Answering:_

Otro: _The colour is auburn. I don't know why I haven't described it, but in my head it was auburn. And thank you for your kind review. :)_

TT

 _Hermione_

Hermione found herself in an unfamiliar environment. She blinked a few times and realized that she was inside the hospital tent. She had woken up in this place after she was bitten.

"Why am I here?" she wondered aloud, her voice still hoarse from, a night ago? Maybe more. The last time it had felt like just a day and it turned out to be two weeks.

"Ah, yes, that's an interesting question, lupa," came the answer.

Hermione turned around and looked at the old face of Sage. His normally calm face was wrinkled with worries.

"Is there something wrong?" Hermione asked, feeling slightly terrified.

"Yes, I'm afraid there is." He pondered for a few minutes. "The only problem is, I don't know what."

"You don't even have a clue?" Hermione's worry started to increase. One thing she really despised is not knowing things.

"I do, I do," he assured her. "But it's just that. An idea."

He was lost in thoughts for a few moments before he noticed Hermione's curious look.

"Forgive me, I'll explain it to you.

"You remember the moment you woke up after you were bitten? You remember what I've told you?"

Hermione shook her head. It was nothing of great significance as she recalled.

"Oh, how forgetful of me. If you would pardon me. I'll make it up by telling you right now.

"The reason why you have slept for two weeks is because your body was fighting the werewolf blood. This doesn't happen often. I myself, have only seen it once, with you it makes two.

"In the last case, the wizard blood won. Well, it didn't exactly win. It just kept fighting till there was nothing to fight for anymore. In the end, werewolf blood is always stronger. To keep fighting against it is like an endless battle. For this, energy is required. Eventually there's no more energy left. Without energy the person cannot survive.

"Some people believe it's brave to fight against the werewolf blood, in my opinion is that it's brave to accept it. Sometimes the bravest thing to do is to accept a losing battle.

"This is about the same of what had happened to you. There was information on this topic, but it's given from wolf to pup. It isn't written down and seeing as the last case was the first one since centuries, the information has been unclear and seen as a fairytale more than a myth or a legend.

"Luckily, you survived. I wouldn't know what would've happened with the young pup…" He wandered off the topic.

"So, I don't know what happens after the first full moon. My hope is that your body is still sore from fighting off the werewolf blood. Maybe it will get better if you just rest."

"You hope?" she remarked, getting frantic. "Isn't there anything which can be done to -you know- help?

"Like I said, I don't know. It's something I'm unfamiliar with. If it gets worse, I'll contact some elder of other packs. For now the best thing to do is just to remain calm and rest. We wouldn't want to create panic when it's not necessary."

"I'll call Draco to keep you company," he added before leaving the tent.

"No! Wait! That's not-" she protested, but he was already gone.

A few minutes later, a scent said that Malfoy had arrived. True to the word of her nose, a blond pale head appeared in the tent opening.

"Granger," he acknowledged with a small nod.

"Malfoy," she grumbled.

What he said next surprised her.

"Cut the show, please," he sighed. "We both won't get anything out of it. We've to live together and I'm tired of all this." He walked towards her and sat down on the end of her bed. He ranked his hand through his hair. Hermione watched him curiously. He confused her. One moment he seemed like the Draco she has always known, next moment he just looked so tired.

"You confuse me," she blurted out.

A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. It was weird to see a smile on his face instead of a sneer. It fit him.

"Why, mademoiselle, that was the purpose." His silver eyes focused on her.

She tilted her head. "You're doing it again."

He furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Joking."

Another small smile and Hermione promised herself that she was going to see more of these.

Draco's brows furrowed again.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He looked a bit taken back by her question.

He shook his head. "I was just wondering why you fainted."

This time it was Hermione's turn to furrow. Should she tell him? What if he went back to the old Malfoy? She still doesn't know him.

"You can tell me," he said gently.

She took a deep breath and his scent filled her nose. It was strangely comforting.

"Sage told me he doesn't know what it is. Just that my blood keeps on fighting the werewolf blood and since it's a losing battle, there are only two outcomes. One: my blood keeps on fighting till I've used all my energy and don't have any energy left to live. Second: my blood stops fighting the werewolf blood and, yeah, well, I live."

There was a fire in Draco's eyes she didn't understand. If she wouldn't know better, she would've thought that he was angry.

TT

 _Draco_

Draco remembered the words Sage had told him when Hermione was still asleep.

 _We can only hope for the best._

Bullshit.

There has to be something.

Anything.

The last time he had spoken to her again, was three weeks ago. She was again sleeping and this time Sage send him away every time he came to stop by. He would send him to do some kind of task. Draco knew he only did this to keep his mind occupied, but it was still frustrating as hell. As soon as he stopped working and retired to his tent, his thoughts would find him anyway. And they wouldn't leave him alone.

He couldn't go on like this. He was just getting to know her. Shit, he wanted to get to know her.

There was only one person who could help him if Sage couldn't.

The next morning he would go to the Alpha.

TT

 _AN:_

 _Yeah, yeah, I know. Still no blood moon. I'll get there._

 _In the meantime, let me know what you think! :)_


	19. Chapter 19: The Alpha

_AN:_

Otro: _It's not really someone else's blood, you become a werewolf when someone who is a werewolf bites you and their saliva comes in contact with your blood. Which means their blood doesn't come in contact with yours. In the wizard world it's seen as an illness, so the way I see it, is like flu. You get in contact with bacteria which make you ill, your temperature rises in order to fight them, this makes you tired which explains the fact that you sleep a lot when you're ill. But, like I stated in one of the previous chapters, wolf blood (or the werewolf infection) is stronger than a witch or wizards white blood cells. So that part is still a bit of science. Where it gets tricky is the part of the white blood cells accepting the infection. The body recognizes that it cannot bet the infection, so it adapts and accepts is and the person becomes a werewolf. Hermione's body is stronger than others and the white blood cells are still fighting against the werewolf infection._

 _I hope it's more clear now. Please excuse me for my strange combination between science and magic._

TT

 _Draco_

He kept his word and the next morning he was standing in front of the Alpha's tent.

Not sure how to announce his presence without a door to knock on, he coughed.

"Come in, Draco," a deep voice called. A little confused about how the Alpha knew his name -he hadn't told him it the first time- he went in.

The tent was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside. The Alpha probably used an expansion spell. It was richly decorated in comparison to the other tents. This one was full of cupboards and had an ancient carpet on the floor. The Alpha stood in the middle of the tent, with his back to Draco, bend over a table filled with maps. Last time, his hair was held together with a leather band, this time it was loose and the braids flowed over his shoulders.

He tilted one of the maps, folded it and turned around with the map still in his hands.

"With what can I help you?" he asked.

Suddenly Draco was nervous. This man, this wolf, he just radiated power.

"Well, eh, you see, I- I mean my-" he tried.

The tanned man chuckled. "Calm down, Draco. You're here for your mate, aren't you?"

Draco flinched at the word; he was still not used to the idea.

The Alpha chuckled again, but then his expression turned serious again.

"Is she well?"

Draco hesitated for a second. "No sir, she isn't."

"A shame. She is such a contribution to the pack." The Alpha walked to one of the cupboards and stored the map away.

Draco was glad to hear that the Alpha still referred to her in present tense. It gave him a bit of hope.

"Did you go to Sage?" He walked to the table and leaned against it, his hands in his pockets.

"Yes sir, but he couldn't help her," he said, putting his hands in his pockets as well, only to stop them from trembling.

"What did he say?" the Alpha asked.

"He told me I had to be patient and that her body would fight it on its own."

The man across him brought his hand to his chin and pondered for a minute. He chuckled deeply and shook his head.

"Sage cannot relate." He tilted his head and looked at the young man before him. "He's old and some things are only understood by the young ones. Besides, his mate passed away peacefully and he's counting his days till he can return to her. He doesn't understand your fight."

"She is not de- death," he stuttered.

"She is not, but you've thought about it."

He had and he hadn't liked it.

"Can you help her?" he blurted.

The man chuckled again. "Straightforward for a Slytherin."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "How do you kno-"

The Alpha interrupted him by raising his hand. Dark eyes studied him and he hated the way it felt, as if he could see straight through him. He knew he couldn't. Draco had learned occlumency and he was arrogant enough to know he was good at it.

"How I know is not of your concern, it's what I know, what you want to discover."

 _Ah, another Slytherin. He might think I'm straightforward for a Slytherin, but I know how to play his games._

"What do you want in return, sir?" he asked.

One corner of his mouth was lifted. "They still teach the games at Hogwarts."

"No, they learn them," Draco corrected.

"Your loyalty, that is all I ask," the Alpha said.

"You have my loyalty," Draco answered without hesitation.

"No. The loyalty of you both."

 _Of course, leave it to Slytherin to ask more._

Draco knew. He just knew he would get problems with Granger with this.

"Deal." He offered his hand. The Alpha took it and held his stare while he started to shake it.

"Great," he said, with a glimmer in his eye which Draco didn't trust.

"Let's sit," the older man suggested, transfiguring two bowls into chairs.

Draco took place and kept his hands in his pockets to keep them from fumbling.

The Alpha walked to the same cupboard as before and opened a different drawer. He fished a bottle and two glasses from the bottom and put them on the table before he sat down.

"Firewhiskey?" he offered. A smart move. Firewhiskey would loosen one's tongue, which would cause him to spill secrets and/ or agree to things which he wouldn't agree to sober. But on the contrary, he could really use some alcohol.

He would play his game.

"Yes please."

The Alpha tilted one corner of his mouth and lifted an eyebrow. He needed to look out for this man. While Draco was sure he couldn't be using occlumency on him, he knew the Alpha had other ways of reading people. This was probably one of the reasons why he became an Alpha. Living with the Dark Lord and being taught by Snape, Draco knew that if there would be anything to read of his face, it would be damn small.

In response, Draco lifted his glass, eyed him over the edge and took a sip from it. The corner of the man opposite him raised even higher, but not enough to make it a smile or smirk.

TT

A little later Draco walked out of Alpha's tent and ran into Gillean.

Gilleans hand was raised in greeting, but half way through he halted. His eyes widened and he looked from Draco to the tent and back.

"You went to Alpha," he whispered, as if it was a secret.

Draco, tired and a bit irritated because of his talk with the Alpha, decided to mock him.

He waved Gillean over. With one hand on his shoulder he took him away from the tent. For the show he looked around to make sure no one paid any attention. This wasn't really necessary. Around noon most people were too busy to have interest in any secret meetings.

Gillean followed his gaze and curiosity spread over his face.

"Do you really want to know?" Draco whispered, looking him serious in the eye.

Gilleans eyes widened slightly and he nodded.

"Well, the Alpha requested my help with something important."

"What was it?" Gillean asked eagerly.

"He asked- no, I shouldn't be telling you this." Draco looked away.

Gillean nodded in agreement, but still looked disappointed.

"But what does it matter?"

Gillean turned his head.

"But I can't really."

This time Gillean only looked down.

"Well, see ye, mate," Draco said, clapping him on the shoulder and leaving a confused Gillean behind.

"Hey, mate, wait up," Gillean called. He shook his confusion away in a way which reminded Draco of a dog after a bath.

 _Or a wolf,_ he added.

It was sometimes so easy to forget it all, but it always came back.

"You can trust me, you know?" Gillean said.

"It was nothing, Gillean," he dismissed. His mood had shifted at the sudden realization of his situation. He kept walking.

"Come on, mate. You can't do this to me," Gillean pushed.

Draco turned around and Gillean bumped into him. The latter hastily took a step back.

"Do you really want to know? I went there because of her! Because- because she is… asleep, again! And in the name of Merlin, I'll be damned if she doesn't wake up!"

The revelation seemed to scare Draco himself and for a second his mask slipped, as fast as it slipped, it was in place again.

He turned again. This time Gillean didn't follow.

TT

 _AN:_ _Have you guys seen the blood moon last friday?_

 _Oh and I was wondering if I should write another chapter in the perspective of the order?_

 _Thank you for reading and let me know what you think of it! :)_


	20. Chapter 20: The Blood Moon

_Hi,_

 _Thank you all who are still reading. :)_

 _Here is the blood moon._

 _Let me know what you think of it!_

TT

 _Draco_

"Hey, Draco!" Davi called.

Draco sighed and turned around. He had just left Hermione's tent, her condition hadn't changed, it was neither worse, nor better.

Draco knew he shouldn't complain, since Hermione was obviously suffering much worse than he was, but all the worrying was tiring and made him cranky.

"What?" he asked, not even trying to hide his irritation.

Davi wasn't taken back as fast as Gillean, so he didn't even blink.

"Tonight is the blood moon," he said.

"Wasn't it next full moon?" he asked, not very interested.

"No. The blood moon is different."

Draco turned to leave, but Davi continued.

"I thought you might want to know, because of your mate."

Draco was all ears now. He narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean," he ordered low.

Davi looked like he only just managed to keep from rolling his eyes. "You'll find no threat in me. The one I'm talking about is Matteo. He has been bragging about the fact that, I believe his exact words were, 'The fairy' will be his when the sky is red."

"How do you know that he was talking about her?"

Davi blushed, which crashed with his usual seriousness. He rubbed his neck. "Well, you see, when he was, eh, describing her, he did so quite detailed."

If it could have someone like Davi get so flustered, Draco figured that he didn't want to know. Instead, he focused on the problem before him.

"So you're saying that he's planning to make my m- Granger, his mate?"

Thankful that Draco didn't comment on his red face, Davi ignored the other mans slip and nodded.

"Thank you." Draco nodded back. He closed his eyes for a second and pinched the bridge of his nose. This woman was really going to be the death of him.

Davi nodded him goodbye and left Draco behind thinking.

He sat down on a fallen tree and pondered about what would do.

He recalled the talk with Sage about mates, which seems ages ago.

If he wanted to strengthen the bond between them, she needed to be awake, not that he would do it when she was asleep. First of all, that seemed so wrong, second of all, he didn't like to be killed so soon.

Draco stood and began walking to the tent. Still, without a plan.

 **TT**

 _Hermione_

Her back hurt and her neck wouldn't crack. Her legs felt like jelly and at least one of her arms was still asleep. Overall, it felt like she had been asleep for several days.

She stretched and began to take in her surroundings. It took awhile for her foggy just-woken-up brain to recognize the place. When it did, the realization hit her hard, like it often did when one would forget the situation they were placed in. While staying in a safehouse with the order, Hermione often had these kinds of realizations when she woke up. Her mind accepted sleep and the moment to forget everything so easily, that it was hard to wake up and remember everything exactly.

She groaned and rubbed her eye. Her bladder came to her attention as well. Deciding she could use a walk, she stood up and left the tent. She nearly groaned again when the sun shone painfully bright. Blinking a few times, she saw that the sun was hidden behind the trees, suggesting that it wouldn't take long for the night to take over. She counted the days that she still could remember and she was positively sure that she couldn't have been asleep for a whole month. There was no need to worry about the full moon. She shrugged and began to search for a place to respond to nature's call.

An empty bladder later, Hermione still didn't feel like returning to her tent. She had been lying horizontal for too long, a little stretch would do her legs good.

She walked through the camp and noticed that there seemed to be suddenly a lot of couples. People were searching each other out and there was a certain atmosphere she couldn't place. She felt it, though, in her bones, although she was sure there was nothing important tonight. Or maybe she had been sleeping for a whole month?

Nonsense. That isn't possible.

Disregarding this thought, she continued her walk.

 **TT**

 _Draco_

Draco was still half in panic when he arrived at the tent, seeing it empty didn't help.

"What the fuck!" he cursed out loud, kicking the first thing within his reach.

Leave it to that bloody frustrating witch to wake up and disappear on the most disastrous time possible.

Maybe she was only taking a pee. She could be back any moment.

Draco sat down and tried to calm his nerves.

An image of her in the arms of a blond boy's arms, made him jump up again. He started pacing. It's unrealistic. She wouldn't do that. It was so out of character for Granger. There was no need to worry. She could protect herself. She would be fine.

"Curse it all," he mumbled, leaving the tent.

The upcoming blood moon caused to sharpen all his senses. He sniffled the air, too caught up in thoughts to be ashamed.

 _Ah, autumn._

He took a second to relish the familiar scent and followed the trail.

He passed his surroundings without really paying attention. The other pack members were too busy preparing for the rapidly upcoming blood moon to pay attention to the frantic blond.

Finally, he found her, bending to pick a little flower. It was already too dark for Draco to see the color of the flower from this distance. For a moment he stopped and a small smile played with his lips. She looked so innocent picking flowers on bare feet, with her hair tucked behind her ear.

Then, he realized his reason to search her out. He walked towards her and at a meter of two, she turned around. A small smile graced her face and he was struck again by her beauty. She was his. He shook his head.

"Draco?" Blasted witch, did she have really no idea how much effect she had on him? Only the sound of his name on her lips. Her sweet, sweet lips. How would they taste?

The power of the blood moon was stronger than the one of the normal full moon and did his blood sing.

She was suddenly a lot closer than first. He traced the outline of her lips with his eyes. Her brows furrowed and she followed his gaze, looked away and unconsciously moistened her lips. That did it.

Draco couldn't stop himself anymore and he didn't want to.

He closed the distance between them and when her lips touched his, he could swear nothing came closer than ambrosia. So sweet. She was water, and he had been drained for months.

He began softly, but when he felt her responding he became more passionate. Her hands wound themselves in his hair, while he placed his hands on her hips.

Suddenly she pulled away. Her eyes were wide and he couldn't decide whether it was from want or shock. Both, probably.

Draco looked up and saw that the blood moon had begun to color the world red. She opened her mouth to say something, but he interrupted her.

"Hermione." Her name tasted strange on his tongue, like a forbidden fruit. "Trust me, okay?"

"What do you mean?" She furrowed her brows again, he decided that he liked it when she did that.

"Just trust me. I need you to trust me."

Her brows were still furrowed and she searched his eyes. He had no idea what she found there, but it seemed to reassure her. She closed her eyes for a second.

"Okay."

His mouth slightly open, he gaped at her words. He asked her to trust him, but he hadn't actually believed her to comply.

He had no time to respond to her words because the shift began to take place.

It burned the same way like it always did, but he paid little attention to his own pain and worried more about Hermione's. She was still so weak. He hated to hear her screams, it reminded him of that horrible night at the manor. No- he still couldn't allow himself to think back.

The largest part of Draco's consciousness was pushed to the back of his head. Wolf instincts began to take over his mind.

He took a deep breath and recognized his mate's scent. He sniffed once more and sighed in content.

Draco sauntered towards her. When she heard his footsteps, she looked up. Weak from sleeping so many days and the pain wrecking shift, she was still laying on the ground. He nuzzled his muzzle in her neck fur. He felt her warm breath sniffing his scent. The auburn fur was soft and warm, while a little sweaty because of the shift. He sighed silently.

In return she pushed her muzzle in his neck fur and licked it affectionately.

After a few seconds of standing like this, he gave a little push with his muzzle to indicate that she needed to stand. His mate gave a small whine, but complied. Wobbly, like a pup, she stood. He licked her muzzle as reward.

Her hair stood straight and she sniffed the air. He copied her and recognized the smell of the blond wolf.

He growled low as warning. The other wolf appeared and ignored his warning. He strolled without hiding his intention towards Draco's mate. She started to growl as well. The blond wolf still didn't seem to be taken aback. His muzzle was lifted a little higher than normal, which made him look arrogant.

Less than a meter away, he stopped. Draco's growling intensified.

The blond wolf was fast, which was a result of being used to his wolf body for a lot more moons than Draco was.

All the latter saw was a rush of blond hair. At the same time he felt something hard and soft hit him in his side. He tried to get up as fast as he could and turned his head towards the attacking wolf. The other wolf was walking towards his mate with ease. He grinned a wolf grin. His mate was baring her teeth in warning, she growled softly.

The blond wolf decided that she was less to no threat compared to Draco and ignored her protests. She narrowed her eyes and almost as fast as the blond had attacked Draco, she attacked him. He grumbled in surprise.

Draco sprung forwards to help his mate. Both bared their teeth to the wolf on the ground. His mate had one paw on the belly of the other wolf to keep him down. For a moment he growled back, but after seeing that the pair wasn't going to give up, he decided that it wasn't worth it. Draco guessed that he thought his mate would be an easy catch. Ha, he couldn't be farther from the truth.

The blond bowed his head and she let him go. He stood, shook his fur and walked away.

Draco turned to his mate and pushed his head softly in her side. He pulled away and tilted his head in question. She nodded, so slight that he thought he imagined it. He took one step forwards and tilted his head again. A whiff of her scent hit him and he knew that if she didn't stop him, he would claim her. She closed the little distance that was still between them. He groaned softly when another whiff of apples and autumn hit him. His little control melted and he bit her in her neck, in return she bit him back.

He felt the change immediately. All his senses sharpened. Her smell was more present. He could taste her in a way which was indescribable. He heard his and her heart beat at the same time. The colors seemed impossible more bright. He felt the air surrounding him, the earth below and above all, he felt her. Her, everywhere.

Hermione.

With that, all came back. His consciousness was pushed back in the front. The wolf instincts were still present, but the all controlling power, which he usually felt at the full moon, was gone.

He had a moment to look up in her wide amber eyes, before the shift began again.


End file.
